FATE
by QuieroTuAmor
Summary: Life has it's ups and downs. No one can control their fate, no matter what it has planned for them. Lily and James...a story of their fate... From their wedding day till the day that fate took its toll. (I suck at summaries. LJ. Full of twists and turns.)
1. Wedding Bells

Wedding bells rang as the newly wedded Potters left the church. They were finally married. The most obvious couple had finally gotten together. After years of hating each other Lily and James finally realized one thing: They had loved each other since day one. Why it had taken them so long to figure it out was still a mystery to them along with all of their friends.  
  
They walked out of the church with smiles on their faces followed by their best man and maid of honor. The best man was Sirius Black, James best friend and the one who finally made Lily and James see that they were a perfect mach. Molly Weasley was the obvious choice for maid of honor as she had been equivalent to Lily's older sister. Lily's true alder sister, Petunia Dursley was also present at the wedding with her husband, Vernon, but they were only there because Mrs. Evans (Lily's mom) was the one who managed the invites and couldn't stand seeing her daughters fighting.  
  
Nothing, not even Lily's wretched sister, was going to ruin their happy day. James lead Lily down the carpeted stone steps and out to the limo. There the limo driver opened the door for the couple as they waved their hands at the crowd. "Kiss her!" rang out a familiar voice belonging to another good friend of James, Remus Lupin. James looked at Lily. He never passed up a chance to kiss her, so without delay, he wrapped his arms round her waist and pulled her into him. Her arms worked their way up to his neck and sat there in a relaxed manner.  
  
The couple got into the limo where they could finally be at peace. "This is the best day of my life, Mrs. Potter," said James putting an accent on the last part grabbing Lily's hands and looking into her bright green eyes.  
  
Lily blushed; James was charming although he still hadn't grown out of his big headedness. She found that she didn't mind any more. "Oh, Mr. Potter, always the charmer," she laughed, accenting his name as well. She figured that someday she was going to look back on this day and call herself crazy, but there was no turning back now.  
  
James smiled, "I have been waiting to say that all day."  
  
"More like for the past 5 years actually," she teased playfully.  
  
"Lets see, five years ago...that would be back in second year, Lils. Sounds about right," he said leaning forward to kiss her. "See how easy it is to make your dreams come true?" he teased.  
  
Lily rested her head on James' shoulder and asked the question that had been haunting her since the night they began dating, "Why didn't we see that we were perfect together before?"  
  
James sighed. "I have always seen it, Lils. You are the one who kept us back," he said, knowing that this statement would definitely push one of her buttons.  
  
He had indeed pushed the right one. Lily sat up straight, "I, Lily Evans, kept us back? I think not! It was you, my big headed friend, that is to blame."  
  
"Lily Potter, honey. Not Lily Evans," he said slyly. "And no, it wasn't my fault. I tried to get you at every available moment, but what did you do? You tossed me away like a dirty sock only causing me to want you more."  
  
Lily sat back reflecting on the night when they had finally come to their senses. It had been just about 7 months ago on Christmas day at the annual Christmas Ball at Hogwarts. Lily hadn't actually meant to fall for James, just give him a chance. James swept her off of her feet and then she realized that it was fate, just like James had told her all along.  
  
"So where exactly are we going on our honey moon, Lils?" James asked kissing her again, thoroughly amazed that he could finally ask her that question.  
  
Lily kissed him back, I thought we were going to your parent's cabin off the coast of the Bahamas," she said.  
  
"Oh yes, that's right," he said ruffling his jet black hair.  
  
Lily pulled away from him once again. "You did ask your parents about it, right?" she asked.  
  
James turned sheepishly away from her piercing stare. "I was going to as them at the reception," he mumbled.  
  
Lily threw up her hands. "How many times did I remind you? I am surprised you managed to book the reception hall," she said in distress.  
  
James grinned. He loved Lily when she was mad and he knew exactly which strings to pull to do so. "One thing at a time, booking the reception hall was the only task you let me perform while preparing for our wedding," he said.  
  
"Well I would have let you do more, if you hadn't forgotten to tell my mother that my sister was too busy to attend the wedding," Lily said.  
  
James remembered it clearly. He was supposed to do anything possible to convince Mrs. Evans not to invite Petunia, but he had gotten side tracked. That must have been the biggest mistake of his life, Lily had almost called off the whole wedding when she heard that her sister was attending. "Well I am sorry, it just so happens that I am a family person," he said.  
  
"So that's why you failed to mention to my mother to add your brother to the invite list," Lily pressed, speaking with great sarcasm.  
  
James decided to ignore the last comment about his snobby brother. "You are particularly attractive when you're mad, you know," he said smiling. James draped his arms around her waist and kissed her again. Lily immediately stopped her fussing and for got why she was mad at all in the first place as she got caught up in the kiss.  
  
James had a special gift for making every care in the world disappear from Lily's mind when he kissed her. There had always been a special connection between them that Lily could never break, even when he kissed her when she hated him. Kissing her was what finally brought them together. At that Christmas dance, James had pulled an un expecting Lily into a rather passionate kiss that, surprisingly, she didn't object to.  
  
They had been together ever since, and James had been proposing to her since the day after they started going out until Lily's 18th birthday last May. It was then that she realized that James was irresistible and that he would eventually find some way of marrying her, so she just said 'yes' and now, here they were, Mr. and Mrs. Potter.  
  
Lily moaned as the limo began to slow down. It was always when the kiss began to lead somewhere that they got interrupted. James however didn't let Lily pull away, he kept his lips firmly on hers and his tongue in her mouth. Lily heard footsteps outside of the limo door and did the only thing she could. She bit his tongue causing him to pull away instantly, just in time. "You are a brutal one, Lils," he said.  
  
"Well I did try to tell you the easier way, but you didn't listen," she smiled, knowing that there wasn't anything she could possible do to offend James.  
  
The limo door opened and James muttered, "We had a good ten seconds before we had to end it." Lily ignored his comment and got out of the limo, and stood waiting for James. He held out his arm to her as the limo drove away. Lily took it and he lead her into the dining hall.  
  
It must have been the prettiest sight that Lily had ever seen. There were lilies all over the hall. Everyone stood up in their seats as they entered the hall. James saw Sirius standing by Remus and Peter at the long table that the wedding party sat at. The announcer came over the speaker saying, "And now for the first time, may I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Potter!"  
  
A/N- Well this is my first Harry Potter fic! I hope you like it! Please leave me a review!! 


	2. Reception

James couldn't get his feet to move, it all seemed so surreal. He had Lily in his arms, something that he would have only be able to dream about a year ago. Lily looked at him and smiled her sweet smile and led him onto the dance floor. The music started up in a slow tune. James put his arms around Lily's waist as she put her hands around his neck with her head on his shoulder.  
  
James felt tense, everyone was looking at him. Reality of the day's events had finally sunken in, Lily was his forever. Lily could sense his tenseness and tenderly kissed his neck. He relaxed a bit. Lily pulled herself closer to him so that she was now pressing up against him. James felt as though they were one as he looked at the on lookers, many who had tears in their eyes. James' friend Peter had tears streaming down his face as he watched them dancing. Sirius shot him a grin that James couldn't help but to return.  
  
Lily felt as though they were dancing on the clouds far above the earth. She looked around to see her mother sitting by James' parents, crying hysterically. She smiled at her mother which only caused her to cry, "My little Lily is all grown up!" which echoed all through the hall casing Lily to blush furiously as her eyes landed on her maid of honor, Molly.  
  
Molly had always been there for her. She was 6 years older, but that hadn't stopped her from always being there for Lily. She and her husband, Arthur, already had two boys, Bill and Charlie, who were at a baby sitter's house right now probably causing who ever was watching them a lot of grief. Bill and Charlie were very wild children. Bill was the eldest at age and cried when ever a pair of scissors was brought near his long hair. Charlie, who was , had a strange interest in dragons for as long as Lily could remember.  
  
The dance finally ended and Lily and James took their seats at the head table. Lily sat down between Molly and James. James sat down and began talking to Sirius while Lily talked to Molly. "So who did you leave Bill and Charlie with?" Lily asked.  
  
"With Arabella, she is the only one who can control those two," she laughed. Arabella Figg was another good friend of Lily and James, but she couldn't attend their wedding because she couldn't stand being around Lily's sister, Petunia.  
  
"Yes, she always had a way of controlling the unruly," Lily said. Arabella had in fact been James' baby sitter when he was young and next to him, any child would be a synch. James had been a prankster ever since he could walk.  
  
On the other side of the table Sirius was teasing James. "Did Jamsie get nervous before walking into the hall?" Sirius sneered.  
  
"Yes actually I did. I wanted to say thank you, Siri-poo," he said sarcastically.  
  
"Thanks for what, Prongs?" he asked seriously.  
  
"For being my best man."  
  
"You promised the position to me in our 3rd year."  
  
James laughed, "So I did."  
  
The music started to play again and James grabbed Lily's arm and asked her to dance. Lily agreed and walked gracefully onto the dance floor, her wedding dress glittering in the dim light.  
  
Remus took James' empty seat nest to Sirius. Remus was Lily's best friend from Hogwarts, he was like her older brother. "Hey Padfoot," Remus whispered nudging Sirius, "do you think that Prongs would let me cut in?" he finished looking over at Lily and James laughing together on the dance floor.  
  
Sirius looked over at them. "Give him two more songs, then let Lily's dad have one, then let James' dad have one, then.."  
  
"Oh I get the idea," said Remus cutting Sirius off.  
  
"Then," Sirius ploughed on, "Prongs will want to dance with her again."  
  
"Oh skrew it! I'm cutting in!" said Remus getting up from the table heading over to Lily and James. He tapped James on the shoulder and held out his hand to Lily, "May I?" he asked sweetly.  
  
Lily smiled and broke away from James. The music livened a bit and Remus pulled her into a quick two step. "So how does it feel to be called Mrs. Potter?" he laughed as Lily rolled into him.  
  
"Oh I'll never get used to it Remus!" she laughed.  
  
Lily looked over at James who was dancing with her mother and obviously impressing her with his incredible dance skills. "It's like he has two sides to his personality," Lily sighed, the smile fading from her face.  
  
"Yes, the charming James Potter and the big headed, pompous, prankster, James Potter, I know what you mean," Remus said causing Lily to laugh.  
  
Remus felt a light tap on his shoulder. It was Mr. Evans. "It was nice talking to you, Remus," Lily smiled as they stopped dancing.  
  
Lily now joined hands with her father as the music slowed down again. "My little Lily, all grown up," Mr. Evans said, his eyes glistening.  
  
"Oh dad! It was bound to happen someday," Lily said.  
  
"Well it was to the right man, I have to give you credit for that. He is quite the charmer," he teased.  
  
Lily laughed, "Yes, James has a knack for turning on his charms at just the right time. Oh, I don't know if James has talked to you yet about..."  
  
"About the vacation home, yes he has. I fear that it won't be in its best condition, it will need some cleaning up. Your mother and I haven't been to the Bahamas lately," he said smiling.  
  
Lily smiled at her father as the song came to and end. "Thank you Lily," he said before walking away to sit with his wife.  
  
Lily went over to the punch bowl where some of her school friends were congregating. "Nice turn out," she said.  
  
"Oh yes, Lily has always been able to throw a good party," said Lily's friend Amy, not realizing who had said it.  
  
"Thank you, Amy," said Lily.  
  
"Oh Lily! Its you! We figured you had forgotten about us, you have been dancing for the past hour you know," said her other friend Teresa.  
  
"I could never forget about you four," she said glancing around the group. Beside Amy stood Gloria and beside Teresa stood Rain. Lily was so glad she had finally spotted her friends.  
  
"I am so sorry that I couldn't be there for the mass," said Rain.  
  
"Its okay, it was like any other wedding. As long as you are at the reception you didn't miss much.  
  
"But you did miss some kiss up on the alter though," said Gloria whistling.  
  
"Oh yes, James did not seem to want to let go, Sirius had to pull James back," said Teresa giggling.  
  
"It was his first wedding he had ever gone to," said Lily defensively.  
  
"Yes, I know, but it was pretty funny," laughed Gloria again.  
  
The four girls were laughing up a storm within five minutes and Lily felt like she was back at school again. "Lily, we are wanted to give a speech," said James slipping his arms around Lily's waist, kissing her on the head.  
  
"Oh, a speech, this is going to be good," laughed Amy nudging Rain.  
  
Lily and James smiled and walked back over to the head table and Lily noticed that the food had already been brought out. As they reached their seats Sirius whispered to James "Make it short, I didn't eat lunch today."  
  
Lily laughed. Sirius and his stomach always went hand in hand. James' father stood up at the end of the head table and got everyone's attention and slowly the talking dyed away. "It is time for the newly weds speech," he said looking at James and Lily. 


	3. Perfect

Lily could feel her face turning red as all of the eyes turned to her and James. Thank fully James spoke first. "Everyone, I have been waiting for this day to come for the past five years, as my wife reminded me in the limo ride over. Now it is finally here and Lily and I can start on our new adventure together," he said.  
  
Lily waited for him to continue. "Lils, you're keeping everyone waiting," he whispered.  
  
"That's it, you're done?" she asked.  
  
James nodded. Lily tried to think of what to say. "Thank you all for coming today. As most of you know back in school James and I used to be enemies. I would like to say a special thank you to Sirius Black for making us realize that we have loved each other since the day that we met," she said gaining confidence.  
  
Sirius stood up to take a bow as everyone clapped. Lily saw a camera flash. "Now let us eat!" Sirius yelled throwing his hands in the air.  
  
Everyone clapped again and soon the room was filled with the nose of clinking silver ware. James looked at Lily. "Some speech Lils," he grinned.  
  
Lily laughed, "You too." James pulled her into a kiss and yet again Lily saw a camera flash. They pulled away laughing and started to eat. Dinner went by fast. Lily felt over whelmed. The photographer was always flashing pictures and Lily was trying to keep up 2 conversations at once, one with Molly and one with James.  
  
Soon after dinner the announcement was made for group pictures. Everyone in the hall filed out of the dinner hall and into a side room that was decorated with an assortment of flowers. It was beautiful. Lily mentally reminded herself to thank her mother for setting it up. "Ok first let's have the wedding party over here," the photographer said in a loud voice.  
  
James tapped the photographer on the shoulder. "Could you also take pictures with this camera?" he asked handing him a wizard camera that when the film was developed the pictures would move. The photographer raised his eyebrows but didn't disagree.  
  
James smiled, grabbed Lily's hand and lead her over the lily covered arch way. The photographer arranged the wedding party and took picture after picture. James had a picture taken with his friends from school and so did Lily.  
  
By the time that all of the pictures were taken Lily was seeing spots and James had to carry her back to her seat in the hall. "Are you feeling alright, Lils?" he asked looking concerned.  
  
"Too many bright lights," she laughed kissing him on the cheek. James kissed her on the lips. All of Lily's cares went away as they always did. She heard someone distantly calling her name, but she didn't really care. Lily easily found herself getting caught up in the moment as she usually did with James. But, the voice became more urgent and got louder. "Lily! Lils! Earth to Lily and James!"  
  
James pulled away at the mention of his name to see Remus. "What is it Moony?" James asked looking aggravated.  
  
"Well if you two wouldn't lapse into your own world while snogging, you would know," he said cheekily.  
  
"Well spill it Moony!" James said.  
  
"Its time for Lily to toss her flowers," he said, and then seeing the confused expression on James' face added, "Muggle tradition."  
  
James and Lily left their seats and Lily grabbed her bouquet. She looked down at it. Now that she really looked at it, she didn't want to give it up. James slid an arm around her waist. "Come here a sec," he said pulling her over to the side.  
  
He pulled his wand out of his pocket and mumbled a spell. "What is going to happen to it?" she asked. "It isn't going to explode is it?"  
  
"Of course it is, you know me," James smiled  
  
"James it better not be dangerous!" Lily said.  
  
He gave the bouquet back to Lily and led her over to the crowd. The announcer counted off and on three Lily threw it over her head. She quickly whirled around just in time to see it explode into a fleet of butterflies. The crowd gasped in shock and then laughed in excitement. Lily glanced over at James who shrugged. The butterflies were gold in color and they glittered like gold. There were just enough people in the hall for the butterflies to land on, one per person. As soon as the landed they became still.  
  
Lily looked over at James and smiled. James grabbed her in his arms and kissed her. "That was brilliant," she said. James smiled and pulled her back into the kiss. It was perfect. This was the most perfect day of Lily's life.  
  
A/N- Well I hope you like it so far! Leave me a review!! 


	4. Front Page

4 Months after the wedding  
  
Lily sighed and closed her completed scrap book. She looked at her handy work as she flipped though all of the moving pictures from her wedding night and honeymoon. James walked into the living room, rubbing his eyes. "Lils, when are you coming to bed, its two in the morning..." he said yawning.  
  
Lily looked at the clock on the wall. She hadn't realized how late it was getting. "I finished the scrap book," she said as she pulled herself off of the couch which was now covered in paper scraps. She pulled out her wand and muttered, "Scourgify." The bits of paper immediately vanished.  
  
James grabbed the read leather book and started to flip through it. Why it there a blank square in on the first page?" he asked still yawning.  
  
Lily blushed. "For our family photo," she muttered.  
  
James looked confused. "We just had one last week."  
  
"Well our family is going to grow eventually, isn't it?" she asked, blushing the color of her hair.  
  
James ruffled his hair. He hadn't really given it a whole lot of thought. "Come on, we'll talk about it later. I am exhausted," said Lily yawning.  
  
They walked up the stairs and went into their bedroom. James set the scrap book his dresser as Lily got into bed. James had no idea how long he stood staring blankly at the cover of the scrap book. Lily moved in her sleep causing James to snap out of his trance. He shook his head and shuffled over to his bed. Sleep came instantly.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Lily woke up and saw the sun streaming through her window. She rolled over and looked at her clock. "Crap!" she screamed. It was 10 am on a Tuesday morning and James was late for Quidditch practice. He was drafted for England's team just a few months before the season started.  
  
"James, wake up!" Lily yelled in his ear. James sat up so fast that his head hit Lily's. "Ouch! James!" she cried.  
  
James looked over at the clock and jumped out of bed and ran to get dressed. "Why didn't my alarm go off?" he called to Lily from the bathroom as he threw on his Quidditch robes.  
  
"Cuz you didn't set it," she said. "I'm going to throw some toast into the toaster for you to eat," she said going down the stairs.  
  
"Throw it into my bag along with this morning's Daily Prophet!" he called, now brushing his teeth.  
  
Lily ran into the kitchen to see an owl sitting on the back of one of their wooden kitchen chairs. She grabbed the news paper out of its beak and put some coins into the back on its leg, quickly apologizing for making him wait. Lily threw it into James' bag and magically toasted two pieces of bread and buttered them. She stuffed them into a zip lock bag tossed it into the Quidditch bag as well.  
  
She paced frantically around the kitchen thinking about what else James may need for the day's practice. Lily ran over to the cupboard and pulled out a water bottle. She ran to the sink and filled it with ice cold water. Lily threw it into the bag just in time for James to grab it on his way to the quaffle on the mantle of their fire place that was used as the portkey for the Quidditch field.  
  
James quickly kissed her good bye. "Oh, Lily, don't forget that we have a meeting to night at our house," he said. Lily nodded and watched him disappear.  
  
She had totally forgotten about the meeting. This was the first one. Albus Dumbledore had been watching the Prophet closely, just like Lily and James had. Just a few weeks ago there was a reported murder of a family not too far away, the Elophens, if Lily was remembering correctly. There was no known cause of their death that scientists could find. They were perfectly healthy.  
  
This is what had prompted Dumbledore to have a meeting. He figured that their deaths had to be related to magic other wise doctors would have been able to find some cause of death. Lily and James had opened up their house for the meeting since their house was the biggest out of all of the people that were called to the meeting.  
  
Lily began bustling around the house using charms to straighten up the house, she was known for her exceptional charm work. She did some laundry and made some snacks for the meeting. She glanced at the clock. It was three pm and she hadn't gotten dressed yet.  
  
Lily ran up stairs and jumped in the shower. Just as she was putting the finishing touches on her makeup when she heard James arrive in the living room. She ran downstairs to greet him. Lily had a smile on her face knowing that he would need to see it after a hard practice. She entered the room and saw James laying on the couch. He looked serious and was holding the Daily Prophet in his hand, reading the front page.  
  
Lily wiped the smile off of her face. She could see from his expression that there had been another attack. "Not another attack, James?" she said.  
  
James looked up just realizing that his wife was in the room. "Yes," he said seriously.  
  
"Who was it this time? Please tell me it wasn't one of our kind," Lily begged.  
  
"It was one of Head Master Dippet's nephews. Luckily he was the only one home at the time. The rest of his family was visiting old Dippet himself at St. Mungo's," he said not looking up from the paper.  
  
Lily sat down next to him. "We'll have an answer by the end of tonight's meeting, hopefully," she said tenderly.  
  
"The meeting... that reminds me, Peter said he was going to be late. Something about his brother needing a ride somewhere, but whatever. When are they coming over?" James asked tossing the prophet aside.  
  
"I think Dumbledore said that he was going to be here at six tonight or at least that's what he said yesterday on the answering machine. I liked the recording you made by the way, very creative," Lily laughed.  
  
James smiled, "Which one was it again?" he asked.  
  
"You are now leaving a message for Little Red Riding Hood and Prongs," she laughed.  
  
"Ah yes that one. I thought it was maybe still the one that I made last month: You have reached the house of a seer. I know who you are, where you are, and what you want so there is no need to leave a message, thank you. That was one of my better ones that I don't think people from your family would understand," he said.  
  
Lily laughed. James was always able to act the sun during a rainy time. "Let me see this scrap book of yours that you spent the whole night working on," James said.  
  
Lily went up stairs with James and lay on the bed with the scrap book open. They went through it remembering different things from their honeymoon and wedding day. "This didn't turn out half bad. You have a knack for making pictures look fun," he laughed as he saw a page that was dedicated to his funny facial expressions. "Do I really look like that when I am sleeping?" he asked wrinkling his nose.  
  
Lily laughed, "Only sometimes. I am glad that the scrap book turned out. It wouldn't have been half as good if you hadn't gotten the photographer to use your special camera," she said.  
  
James leaned over and kissed Lily. She scooted closer to him and drew her arms around his neck. James smiled to himself. Kissing Lily was the perfect way to get his worries out of his head and to relax after the hard Quidditch practice. James was co-captain and the seeker for England's team.  
  
James felt Lily's tongue invite itself into his mouth. Ever since they had gotten married Lily had become more comfortable with controlling the kisses and James had to admit, it was a nice change not to be in control. There was a light tap at their bedroom window and Lily pulled away to see a brown owl hovering outside of it. She scurried over to the window and pulled it open and was greeted by the crisp September air. The owl flew in and dropped the letter on the fluffy bed and immediately flew off into the horizon.  
  
James picked up the letter and recognized the writing on the envelope to be Sirius. He tore open the seal and read aloud:  
  
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Potter (never going to get used to it),  
I heard word from Dumbledore, well actually I intercepted an owl  
of his on accident but that's not the point, I heard that there was  
going to be a meeting over at your house concerning the deaths that  
have been taking place. As I am your secret keeper (no idea why you  
picked me by the way) I am showing up at the meeting tonight. I will  
be a bit early to chat for a bit (and to get help planning the next  
prank to play on my neighbors, they are really getting on my nerves)  
say around five o'clock. See you then!  
Sirius Black  
  
"Yes, exactly what were we thinking when we made him our secret keeper, James?" Lily laughed.  
  
"He is the best lair in the world. And he can get anything out of anyone," said James peering over at the clock. "Looks like he'll be here in about a half an hour, plenty of time for me to dig up something for this prank he is planning."  
  
"James, really, are you going to assist him in torturing his neighbors? We have met them before, they were the sweetest people," she said sternly.  
  
"If Sirius thinks that they are bad, then they're bad," said James.  
  
"Well it doesn't take much to convince him then does it?" Lily said sarcastically.  
  
James went out of the room and down into the cellar to look for his old No Heat Wet Start Fillibuster Fireworks. He found them in the darkest corner, but to his dismay they had all gone off already. "So that was that big bang that I heard while I was sleeping last week," he murmured. He looked around determined not to go up empty handed. James finally found a box of dung bombs that were way past their expiration date.  
  
Just as he was about to bring the box up stairs he heard Lily say, "James! Come up here! Sirius is here!" James went up stairs with out delay to greet his best friend and present him with the deadly dung bombs.  
  
A/N- I have just realized that I left out the Weasley children's ages in the second chapter. I am looking through the books to find out how old they would have been at this time. Well I started the main plot in this chapter and it will be fully launched next chapter during the meeting, which is the first official Order of the Phoenix meeting. Thank you to my 2 reviewers! I am thrilled to get positive feed back on my first fic!  
  
Disclaimer- I own nothing related to Harry Potter. 


	5. Muggle Contraptions

"Jamie boy! So good to see you again!" said Sirius and then seeing the box in his hands added, "So you found something for the prank, knew I could count on you!"  
  
"Stop with the cheesy nicknames and yes I did find something for you," he said handing Sirius the box.  
  
"James, these are almost a year old," said Sirius looking puzzled.  
  
"Yes, you see the older the dung bomb the deadlier the aroma," James smiled deviously.  
  
"So, Sirius," Lily started, trying to get their conversation off of the prank, "have you heard about the murders?"  
  
"Yes, that is what this meeting is about, isn't it?" he asked looking a bit more serious now.  
  
"Yes, Sirius, I have no idea why you didn't get a notice about it. Must have slipped Dumbledore's mind," said Lily.  
  
"I am glad you are here, Sirius. You have to see the scrap book that Lily put together. There are some hilarious pictures of you in it," laughed James running up stairs to get the scrap book.  
  
"So how was your honeymoon, Red?" Sirius asked.  
  
"It was great, although it did rain most of the time so we couldn't do a whole lot outside," said Lily. "Please, have a seat Sirius," she said motioning for him to sit on the couch.  
  
"So no you want to spill about the vacation? Anything exciting happen?" he asked cheekily.  
  
"No, Sirius, nothing that concerns you," said Lily blushing.  
  
Sirius laughed. "I understand," he said. Sirius stuck his nose into the air and sniffed. "Do I smell cookies?"  
  
"They're for the meeting," said Lily. Sirius got off of the couch and went over to the kitchen. "Don't eat them all, other people in this world like my cookies too you know," she called after him remembering all to well at James' 18th birthday party. Sirius had eaten all of the cookies before the first guest had even arrived. She had wizened up though; she had hid the cookies before the party as a precaution.  
  
James came running down the stairs with the red scrap book in his hand. "Where's Sirius?" he inquired.  
  
"Raiding the kitchen for cookies, I can guarantee that he won't find them though. I hid them in the oven and I'm not quite sure he knows how to open it," she laughed.  
  
"Yeah, well Padfoot does know how to follow his nose, he'll find some way to open the door," said James. Just after he said these words there was a loud bang in the kitchen.  
  
"I'll help him," sighed James setting the scrap book on the coffee table. "Sirius? What are you doing?" James asked watching as Sirius tried to pull open the oven.  
  
"Your wife is a cruel witch, Prongs!" Sirius teased. "She hid her cookies in a muggle contraption that I can't open! Where did I put my wand?"  
  
James laughed. "Ah, found it. Alohomora!" Sirius yelled.  
  
"Its not locked, Padfoot," said James very amused. Sirius had now resorted to shaking the oven violently.  
  
Lily ran into the kitchen and smiled. "You can't beat me Sirius," she laughed.  
  
Sirius scowled. "Just tell me how to open it and I'll only eat two," he begged.  
  
James looked at Lily for some sign of approval. "Go ahead James, put him out of his misery," she laughed.  
  
James went over to the oven and pulled open the door. "And that, my friend, is how you open an oven," he said, slightly stressing the word oven.  
  
Sirius looked amazed. He closed the oven door and opened it again. "What exactly do you use an oven for?" he asked pulling out two cookies off of the plate that was nestled on the middle rack of the oven.  
  
"Cooking," sighed Lily.  
  
Sirius shrugged and stuffed a cookie into his mouth. "What ever flies your broomstick," he sighed throwing another cookie into his mouth.  
  
James walked over to Lily as Sirius amused himself with the other buttons and knobs on the oven. "Better put those cookies somewhere else now that he knows how the oven works," he laughed.  
  
"How about in the microwave?" she whispered back.  
  
"No, we hid the cupcakes in there the last time he was over. What about the bread box?" he suggested.  
  
"Okay, just occupy him so I can hide them properly," laughed Lily.  
  
Sirius screamed and jumped away from the oven. Lily threw her hands over her mouth once she saw what he had done. "What are you trying to do?" she cried.  
  
James ran over and turned off the stove that lay on top of the oven. Sirius had innocently turned on the gas. "The oven isn't a toy, come on, lets look at the scrap book," said James leading Sirius out of the room.  
  
Lily calmed down and went over to the oven to hide the cookies in the bread box. It wasn't an easy task. First she had to empty all of her magical touch spices out of it, making sure that the muggles next door couldn't read the labels. She threw the cookies inside and tried to close the bread box door, but the tray was too big. She went through her cabinets looking for another dish.  
  
Lily opened the third cabinet to the left next to the oven and found her trays haphazardly stuffed in. "Sirius," she muttered pulling out the smallest try she could find. She piled the cookies on the plate and had to put a loose sticking charm on the cookies so they stuck together. Lily mentally reminded herself to perform the counter spell before she set the cookies out at the meeting.  
  
She roamed around her kitchen checking each cabinet looking to see if Sirius had disrupted them as well. Lily only found two and magically sorted them back to normal. She looked up at the clock 5:45. Fifteen minutes until Dumbledore was to arrive. Lily went into the living room to tell Sirius and James.  
  
Lily entered the living room to see that Dumbledore was already there in the room. "You're early," she said.  
  
"Things are a bit more urgent than we thought. I have told everyone to report over here at 6:30, if you don't mind," he said.  
  
"That's fine," James said looking serious again.  
  
Dumbledore took out and unfurled the copy of the Evening Prophet. "There has yet been another attack, the rest of Dippet's nephew's family. So, naturally, his oldest son, Brian, will not be attending the meeting tonight," he said passing the prophet to James.  
  
"This is driving me crazy! How can perfectly healthy people just snuff it like that?" Sirius asked scratching his head.  
  
"There are ways to do such horrible deeds," Dumbledore sighed hanging his head.  
  
"Then why haven't I heard about them?" Sirius asked.  
  
Lily sighed, "Cuz you never paid attention during Defense Against the Dark Arts in our 6th year. You were always fooling around and asking stupid questions. Don't you remember anything about the unforgivable curses?"  
  
James and Sirius both scratched their heads. James couldn't remember anything about them, nor did he even realize that they existed. "No, what are they?" James asked.  
  
"I can't remember their names, but one is used for torture, another for mid controlling, and one for killing. All I know is that you have to be a powerful wizard to perform them," said Lily.  
  
Dumbledore cut in, "Exactly, the one for torturing people is called the Cruciatus Curse, the mind controlling curse is called the Imperius Curse, and the killing curse is called the Advada Kedavra which is the one that is supposedly killing everyone."  
  
"Then why hasn't the prophet said anything about the curse being suspected of killing people?" asked James.  
  
"They don't want people to think that there is a powerful wizard running around, people would panic. In my opinion, if there is a dark powerful wizard running around he would want people to panic, it would cloud their minds," said Dumbledore.  
  
"So who is coming to this meeting?" asked Sirius.  
  
"Frank and Alice Longbottom, Alasar Moody, Dedalus Diggle, Marlene McKinnon, Emmeline Vance, Remus Lupin, Benjy Fenwick, Edgar Bones, Sturgis Podmore, Caradoc Dearborn, Rubeus Hagrid, Elphias Doge, Gideon Prewett, my brother Aberforth, Dorcas Meadows, Peter Petigrew who informed me that he was going to be late, Molly and Arthur Weasley, and of course us. Hopefully we can get more people as time goes on," said Dumbledore.  
  
The doorbell rang and Lily excused herself from the room to answer it.  
  
A/N- I am still trying to figure out the ages of the Weasley children at this time. I would have posted it in this chapter, but I have no idea how long it is going to take me to find out, and I'd rather not keep you waiting for this chapter which is kind of short, but it ends in a convenient place for me. As you can probably see if you have read book 5 the people attending the meeting in the next chapter are all mentioned while Moody is showing Harry the photograph of the original Order. I think I am going to add a few more people, but they aren't going to attend the first meeting, when the picture is taken. Next chapter will delve even more into the plot although most of you can guess what it is. 


	6. Rising Power

Standing outside was Molly and Arthur Weasley. "Hello!" said Lily hugging the new arrivals.  
  
"We would have come by floo powder, but we didn't know if you'd be connected to the network or not, since you just moved into Godric's Hollow last month," Molly explained as Lily led them into the living room where James, Sirius and Dumbledore were seated.  
  
"We got connected just about two weeks ago," said Lily closing the drapes so her neighbors wouldn't see her magically draw up extra chairs. She motioned for Molly and Arthur to have a seat and glared at James signaling that he should take their coats up stairs.  
  
The fireplace on the other end of the room glowed and in a flash a man with a silly hat in his arms. He stepped out, bowed to everyone present in the room and put the hat on his head. "Ah, Elphias Doge, nice of you to join us," said Dumbledore getting up to shake his hand. Dumbledore introduced Elphias to everyone in the room and offered him a seat.  
  
There was a loud crack that echoed in the kitchen announcing that someone had just apparated. "Hello? Anyone here?" called Remus' voice.  
  
"In the living room, Moony," James called to him.  
  
Remus came into the room and said his hellos. "Peter is going to be late..."  
  
"We know," said James cutting him off and jumping up to take his coat up stairs.  
  
"This is a nice house, too bad you have to live next to muggles," Remus sighed.  
  
"Yes, I had to teach James how to use all of the muggle appliances before we moved in so they wouldn't get suspicious. That was a hard task," Lily laughed getting up to give Remus a hug.  
  
The fire place started to glow again emitting Frank and Alice Longbottom. "Frank, Alice, nice of you to join us," said Dumbledore. "Have a seat."  
  
Frank and Alice sat down next to Dumbledore and the Weasleys. "Looks like we are going to need some more chairs," said Lily conjuring up some more.  
  
There were several more cracks echoing from the different areas of the house. Moody came from up stairs, Edgar Bones came from the coat closet rubbing his head and hanging up the coats that fell, Sturgis Podmore came from the kitchen, Aberforth Dumbledore came from the corner of the living room, Dorcas Meadows landed on an empty chair next to Alice Longbottom causing her to jump with fright and scream, and Benjy Fenwick strolled out of the cellar. They all gathered into the living room and sat down murmuring their hellos and introducing themselves to one another.  
  
Everyone was talking merrily until there was a loud knock on the front door. James jumped up accompanied by Sirius to open it. They each had their hands in their pockets ready to pull out their wands if they were needed. James opened the door and sighed with relief. It was only Hagrid. Hagrid was half giant which explained the loud knock. "Come on in Hagrid," said James smiling and offering to take his coat.  
  
Hagrid ducked into the door way and tossed his coat in to James' arms causing his knees to buckle under the weight. "Nice ter see yah again James. I haven't seen you since yer big day. So where are we all meeting?" he asked in his deep voice.  
  
Sirius led the way into the living room and Lily drew up a chair to support his weight. Hagrid sat down and said hello to everyone. Dumbledore stood up and counted how many people were present. "Sixteen including me that should be enough, we can get started," he said.  
  
Everyone in the room come to order and all eyes went to Dumbledore. "I hope that you all have been keeping up with the Daily Prophet because that is why we are having this meeting. Does anyone need to be filled in?" he asked.  
  
"I do," said Dedalus Diggle who had just arrived through the fire place.  
  
"Just in time as usual, Dedalus, we have just started the meeting," said Dumbledore drawing up yet another chair.  
  
"Ah yes, I suppose we are discussing the articles in the prophet," he said sitting himself down next to Remus.  
  
Just then a new wave of people came in. Dumbledore sighed, "Let's wait for our new arrivals to get situated."  
  
Lily was reminded of her snacks that she had prepared and ran into the kitchen to get them. There she saw Marlene McKinnon dusting herself off. "Ah, Lily," she said straightening up.  
  
"Yes, how are you Marlene?" Lily asked pulling everything out of the fridge.  
  
"I am good, let me give you a hand," she offered seeing Lily struggle with all of the bowls and plates. The two brought the snacks into the living room and set them on the table. Sirius jumped into the table as soon the cookies were put down, snatching five. There were some other new arrivals that had seated them selves in the room. They were Caradoc Dearborn, Emmeline Vance, and Gideon Prewett.  
  
"No sign of Peter yet?" Lily sighed. It was typical of Peter to be late, he always had something going on now a days.  
  
Everyone shook their head. "Well let's get started," said Dumbledore looking frustrated. "Everyone is here except for Peter, so we can start. Now have all of you been keeping up with the prophet story?" he asked.  
  
Everyone nodded murmuring "Yes," or "Absolutely horrible." "Good, good, now does anyone have a guess as to how this is being done?" Dumbledore asked smiling.  
  
Again there were many head shakes, although Frank Longbottom spoke up, "The unforgivable curses. If you read the article about the Elophens it states that they had an expression of unbearable pain on their faces. This suggests that before they were killed they were under the Cruciatus Curse."  
  
"That was exactly the conclusion that the Potters, Mr. Black, and I came to before you all arrived," said Dumbledore.  
  
"Please, call me Sirius," said Sirius, he couldn't stand being called by his last name.  
  
"Right, sorry Sirius. Let's continue. Does anyone else have any ideas?" Dumbledore questioned.  
  
Emmeline spoke up, "Well it is possible that they were killed by physical means, but the wounds were covered up."  
  
"Very good, that was the other way that I was thinking of. The unforgivable curses and magical cover up were the two possibilities that I came up with. Are there any more?" Dumbledore said happy that they were coming up with the answers he was. This was going to be a good defense group against the new arising power.  
  
They shook their heads. "Good, very well. So now here comes my next question, how many of you believe that there is a new rising power?" he asked. He wasn't surprised at the looks of shock and fear that he received; in fact he would have been worried if they hadn't reacted that way.  
  
"What do you mean a new rising power? Are we going to go through a dark age or something? Is there going to be a wizarding world war or something?" panicked Benjy Fenwick.  
  
"There is always the possibility. That is why we are all here tonight. If there is a power that is rising we need to protect each other and not be fooled by the new power," said Dumbledore calmly.  
  
Lupin also looked calm, "What Dumbledore is trying to say is that we all agree to fight the evil before it gets to strong," he said looking over at Dumbledore with raised eyebrows.  
  
"Well of course we are going to stop it! We can do it especially if we start now!" said Edgar Bones pounding his fist on the table.  
  
"Well now Mr. Bones, lets not be too hasty, we don't even know who it is that is causing this mayhem. We need to find out who it is with out any one finding out about us. Sturgis?" said Dumbledore looking over at Sturgis Podmore. "Stand up please."  
  
Sturgis stood up, "Yes Albus?" he asked.  
  
"Everyone, this is Sturgis, the famous black market dealer. If he feels up to it, I am going to entrust him on the mission of finding out who is behind it all. Does anyone volunteer to help him out?" said Dumbledore.  
  
"I will," said Peter walking into the living room.  
  
A/N- Again sorry for a short chapter! I am writing on and off and posting at any suspenseful break in the story (hehehehe) aren't I mean. Even though I am still no where near finishing the story I have already come up with the last sentence. I made sure that I was going to be able to write a sequal from Sirius' point of view picking up where this story leaves off, but in the end writing a sequal comes down to the reviews, so tell your Harry Potter loving friends about me! LOL!!  
  
Disclaimer-I own nothing related to Harry Potter. They belong to J.K. Rowling. 


	7. Rain Rain Come Again

"Peter, so nice of you to join us," said Dumbledore drawing up another chair beside Sturgis.  
  
"I arrived in time to hear you cry for volunteers, I would have come in, but I didn't wan to interrupt anything," Peter said nervously.  
  
"So are you willing to act 'spy' with Sturgis? It will be a dangerous mission. But, I dare say, if you succeed in your task and we defeat this evil power you will receive much glory," smiled Dumbledore.  
  
Peter walked over to the chair that Dumbledore had drawn up for him. He looked nervously around. "Pretty big turn out," he mumbled.  
  
"Yes, I was quite pleased with the vast number of people who were interested. Unfortunately a few people, such as Lily's friends, Gloria and Amy, could not be present tonight but they were interested in joining," Dumbledore said.  
  
Lily smiled to herself. She could always count on Gloria and Amy to stay by her side. "So what exactly are we going to name our selves?" asked Hagrid.  
  
Many people looked puzzled. "Well we are obviously a group now. We need a name to identify ourselves with," agreed Mrs. Longbottom.  
  
"I shall have to think on that one," said Dumbledore stroking his beard.  
  
"I think we should take a group photo. Then we can know who to inform about the next meeting," said Moody.  
  
"Why don't we just have everyone sign a piece of parchment?" asked Remus.  
  
"Parchment can easily be tossed away without a thought. A picture would be less likely to be thrown out. And besides any traitors in the room would be able to wipe their names off of the sheet at any time," snarled Moody.  
  
"Alastar, I don't think that we will have any problem with betrayal," commented Molly Weasley.  
  
"Okay, a picture it is then. Who has a camera handy?" asked Dumbledore.  
  
"I have one upstairs, I will go get it," said James leaving his seat.  
  
"I don't think that Sturgis and I should be in the..."  
  
"Non sense Peter! No one is going to know what we are planning. We could say it was a reunion of some sort," said Remus.  
  
Peter was about to protest when James came running down stairs with the camera. "Everyone gather over here by the fireplace," he said making the camera levitate in the air. It would only take the picture when James signaled.  
  
They all smiled and were blinded by the flash. "Get me a print of that photo, James!" called Moody.  
  
"We should all like a copy," said Aberforth.  
  
Shortly after, everyone started leaving either by floo powder or by apparating. Sirius stuck around for a while eating the left over cookies. He left after they were all gone, expired dung bombs in his arms.  
  
Lily let out a long sigh as she flopped onto the couch. James made the chairs disappear and sat down next to her. Lily leaned her head onto his shoulder. James wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into his lap. She sighed again, leaned her back against him, and put her arms around his neck. It had been a hard day.  
  
Lily looked into the kitchen and could see a lot of dishes cluttering the sink. James saw what she was looking at and as soon as she started to move he tightened his grip around her and kissed her neck affectionately. "Get them tomorrow, its ten already," he whispered into her ear. Lily smiled and leaned back into him and kissed his neck. Tomorrow was going to be another long day.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
It had been two days since the meeting when the next attack happened. It was on the front page of the prophet. A small wizarding family called the Doufs was murdered last night. This was the first reported case of a child dying. That was what really bothered Lily. Who ever was killing these people didn't care what age they were. It was all very depressing and after a while she just stopped reading the prophet all together.  
  
Lily was depressed by that last attack, but two days later there was another attack that had caused her to lock herself in the bathroom for a whole day. Rain, one of Lily's best friends, had been driven to insanity. Luckily she was still alive thanks to her muggle neighbors, but she was forced to make St. Mungo's her new home. Lily went to go visit her friend as soon as the shock wore off.  
  
James was left at home to fend for himself. He was now very glad that Lily had taught him how to use all of the muggle cooking devices, other wise he would have starved. Lily was at the hospital day and night with her friend Rain and James was left home alone which he hated. There was no one to talk to except for the pictures on the walls, which were beginning to get very annoying. All he had to look forward to was Quidditch practice on Tuesdays and the next meeting on Saturday evening.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
It was Saturday morning during breakfast and James had just convinced Lily to stay home for the day when Dumbledore apparated in the corner of the kitchen. Lily jumped up and threw her fork across the room when she saw him appear. "Good gracious!" she yelled now pulling her hand over her heart.  
  
"I am sorry for dropping in like this, but I am afraid that the meeting tonight will have to be cancelled. Moody said that he had a feeling that something would go wrong, well you know him relying on his dark magic detectors and what not. Well that is all, and Lily, I am so sorry about your friend," he said.  
  
Lily nodded, "The sooner we find out who it is, the better."  
  
Dumbledore nodded to James and Lily and quickly disapparated. Lily went over the living room and picked up the fork that she had flung and sat back down next to James at the dinner table. James sighed with relief. Another free evening and this time he would have Lily to keep him company. "So what are your plans for to night?" he asked.  
  
"Nothing really, just sit around I guess," Lily said smiling. "I'm full," she said pushing away her left over scrambled eggs. She looked over at the pile of dirty dishes. Lily went over to the kitchen window and closed the drapes. After being sure that no one could see inside, she flicked her wand and the dishes began to wash themselves. She was sincerely glad that she had learned magic.  
  
James walked up behind her and slipped his hand around her waist. Lily sighed and leaned into him. They swayed back and forth for a while as Lily stared into space and James leaned his head on her head to breathe in the aroma of her vanilla smelling hair. Lily closed her eyes relaxing and taking a break from the recent devastating events.  
  
James led her slowly over to the couch in the living room and sat down with her on his lap. Lily curled up into a ball, hugging her arms around James' neck with her head under his chin. She closed her eyes as she felt sleep began to swallow her. James noticed that she was asleep and laid her down on the couch, curling up next her putting his arm around her shoulder with his nose touching hers. The couple lay sleeping on the couch not aware of what else was happening in the world around them.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Peter walked into the house that was described to him in the note his master had sent to him. It was pretty big, but the family who had lived there had died long ago making it the perfect place for a meeting not meant to be over heard. Peter saw a light shining through a crack of a door in the hallway ahead. He walked towards it swallowing nervously. He pushed open the door. "Peter, your late," said a cold voice coming from the couch.  
  
There sat a tall man with dark brown hair wearing tattered wizard robes. "My lord, I have some news," said Peter approaching the couch.  
  
The man turned around, his gray eyes surveying Peter like an x-ray machine. "Well, don't keep me waiting, spill it!" he said, raising his voice.  
  
"They are wising up to you. They know how you have been killing people and they are plotting against you."  
  
A/N- Thank you to Ayla for helping me figure out the Weasley's ages. At this time Bill is 5, Charlie is 3, and Percy (who I failed to mention earlier) is 1. Mrs. Weasley would probably be pregnant with the twins soon....hmmm...thinks to self that could be part of the story....Well I am back in school after the weekend so the posts might not be as regular, but I am trying my best to keep them coming! You know how it is, the moment you find something that you like doing, the teachers pile homework on you. Life is unfair! 


	8. The Passion

  
  
Lily awoke a few hours later to find her self on her couch face to face with a sleeping James. She kissed him playfully on the lips. He didn't move. She sighed and kissed him harder this time. James twitched a bit.  
  
She moved her arms that were lying between her and James and moved them about his neck. Lily pulled herself closer to him. Again she laid her lips on his kissing him lightly. "I'm up, I'm up!" he said in a groggy voice.  
  
James was greeted by a dazzling pair of green eyes starring in to his hazel ones. He felt his wife's arms around his neck playing with the hair on his head. James sighed, why couldn't everything be this perfect?  
  
He seized the opportunity to kiss Lily. She pulled herself closer to him and he could feel her curves pressing against him. James put a hand up to her pale face and pushed her stray red locks behind her ears.  
  
Lily tensed as his hand touched her face, but immediately relaxed as his tongue slipped into her mouth. Everything was so natural with James. He made her feel like a beautiful angel.  
  
The passion grew as it usually did. James kept half expecting something or someone to interrupt them as that is what usually happened when they got this intimate. Nothing happened. James smiled it was all perfect...too perfect...  
  
Lily pulled away. "What are you smiling about?" she laughed seeing the broad grin on his face.  
  
James said nothing as he pulled her back into the kiss. He felt Lily's tongue roaming about his mouth tickling the roof of his mouth slightly before withdrawing itself back behind his lips. She started to pull away, but James wasn't going to let her go without a fight. He forced his tongue through her lips and into her UN expecting mouth. James held her slightly tighter and moved his hand to her side and felt her tense up as he ran his fingers up and down her.  
  
Lily couldn't complain. James knew exactly what drove her crazy. She moved her hands up the back of his head rumpling his hair as she went. Lily felt her free hand following the collar of her low cut shirt, stopping momentarily to fiddle with the locket that he had given her the previous year. A few seconds later she felt his hand continue to follow her v-neck. Lily quickly grasped his hand before it could go any further and held it tightly in hers. James took her hand that was holding his and pulled it back up to his head. Lily's hand let go of his and busied itself with his hair once again.  
  
James dragged his free hand up to Lily's ear. He saw Lily close her eyes as his tongue stroked hers, allowing herself to become absorbed into the passion. He felt one of her small hands leave his head and move down his neck to his chest.  
  
Her light touch drove him mad and Lily knew it. She felt the kiss intensify and found herself wondering how much longer James was going to put up with her powerful teasing. Her question was soon answered as she felt his hand return to her locket.  
  
James knew that Lily was teasing him and trying to arouse him. Her touch was daring him to unleash his curiosity. He tried to remain calm and not let her win her little game. In the end his instincts took over as he advanced on Lily, leaning into her causing her to roll onto her back.  
  
Lily's shoulder brushed up against the couch cushion. Her intense teasing had driven him mad. James pulled himself onto her and she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled at his hair. Lily knew that her relationship with James was never going to be the same again and that they would look upon each other in a new light, but she didn't care. She had won her little game.  
  
A/N- Sorry, this chapter kind of sucks! I am no good with these passionate scenes! This was written at about 11 pm because I was afraid of my mother reading over my shoulder. You can all guess what happened although I don't have the stomach to go any further. Lets see....up coming events...more death, heart break in the Potter household, and another meeting. I need names of people to be death eaters; I am basically using people that I hate from school in my drafts. LOL!! If you have any cool names let me know!!  
  
Disclaimer-I own hardly any of the characters in the story!! 


	9. Tears of Joy

  
  
"Lils, you should really go and see a doctor," said James holding back Lily's soft red hair as she leaned over the toilet. This had been going on for the past 4 days. "Just go today! I can handle making the snacks for the meeting tonight," James pleaded.  
  
Lily sat up and wiped her mouth on her pajama sleeve as she flushed the breakfast she had eaten an hour ago down the toilet. For once in her life she had to admit that James had a good point. Lily had lost her appetite and had been getting sick quite often. "Maybe your right, I'll go to Mungo's," she said. Lily showered, got dressed, and said good bye to James as she disappeared in the flames of the fire place.  
  
Now James was all alone in the house with the daunting task of preparing snacks for the evening's meeting. He had no idea when Lily would be back. Was Friday a busy day at Mungo's? James got out Lily's list and picked out the easiest item to make, cheese cubes. He walked over to the fridge and retrieved the block of yellow cheese and set it on the cutting board. James pulled the curtains closed on the kitchen window and pulled out his wand to magically cut the cheese into even pieces.  
  
Two hours later as precisely one pm James heard someone arrive in the fire place. He looked over the snack list and was happy to have completed three out of the four items on the list. Lily would be pleased with his progress. James went into the living room to greet her and found her sitting on the couch with an expression of pure joy and shock on her face. She looked over at him.  
  
"So what did the doctor say?" asked James.  
  
"Luckily the loss of appetite and vomiting are normal for people like me," she said. Lily saw his puzzled expression and motioned for him to sit down next to her. She grabbed both of his hands and sighed. "To put it bluntly James," she paused drawing in another deep breath and slowly let it out. "You're going to be a father."  
  
James sat expressionless on the couch letting her words sink in. He was going to be a father. He put his hands up to his head and a smile came over his face. James flung his arms around Lily taking her by surprise. He felt tears of joy rolling down his face as he kissed Lily.  
  
Lily felt James pick her up off of the couch and she locked her arms tightly around his neck, still locked in his kiss. They pulled away and laughed. Never, not in a million years, had they ever dreamed they could be this happy. At Hogwarts they never got along and now they were going to be parents.  
  
James lowered Lily to the floor and pulled her into another kiss. They let all of their joy and love be un leashed in this single kiss. They stood, lost in time, as the world went on without them. Lily started laughing again as they broke apart. She kept her arms on his shoulders and leaned her head under his chin. "Did you make any of the snacks on the list?" she whispered.  
  
"Three of them, I left the cookies for you," he replied.  
  
Lily led him into the kitchen. "Come on, we'll make them together," she smiled.  
  
James followed her into the kitchen as the shock slowly wore off. He was sure that right now he was the happiest person on the face of the earth. He listened to all of Lily's directions and by the end of the hour he knew all of the secrets that went into her cookies.  
  
They ate dinner at five, giving them two hours to prepare for the meeting. "So are we going to tell everyone at the meeting about or news?" James asked as they sat on the couch holding hands.  
  
"I think we had better wait for a month or so, just to be sure," said Lily.  
  
"What do you mean just to be sure?" James asked.  
  
Lily shrugged. "You never know with babies, let's just keep quiet and hope for the best," she said.  
  
James kissed Lily sincerely hoping that nothing was going to go wrong. "Nothing is going to go wrong," he whispered to her, pulling out of the kiss for a slight second.  
  
Lily smiled and relaxed into his shoulder closing her eyes. She was full of joy and wonder. She couldn't help but wonder what was in store for James and her as she sat contently lapsing into her own little world.  
  
A/N This was a very short chapter, but I wanted to post something so here it is! Chapter ten will hopefully be longer, depends on how much homework my stupid teachers give me! Lol! 


	10. Friends Stick Together

Lily sat nestled between her two best friends, Gloria and Amy, as she waited patiently for Dumbledore to start the meeting. She was glad to see that word of the Order of the Phoenix, which was the name that Dumbledore had decided on, had spread. Every one who had shown up last Tuesday was there except for Dumbledore's brother Aberforth. There were six new members Gloria and Amy, of course, along with James' parents Sarah and John, Lily's other friend Teresa, and Matt Halker.  
  
"Welcome all, especially to our six new members Gloria, Amy, Sarah, John, Teresa, and Matt. We are all thrilled that you could be here tonight. I trust that our not so new members picked up a group portrait on their way in. Good, good, now down to business," said Dumbledore.  
  
Remus stood up with the latest news of an attack in his hands. "Luckily there haven't been any more attacks since Rain, who luckily wasn't killed..."  
  
Gloria cut in, "She would have been better off dead, she can't do anything, can't remember anything, she can hardly even talk."  
  
Amy hung her head. To every one the news of the attack on Rain had been a shock, but it had affected her the most. Rain was Amy's twin sister and without her twin, Amy felt lost. Lily looked over at Amy and immediately felt her friend's grief and tried to change the subject. "So, Sturgis, Peter, have you found anything at all?" she asked.  
  
"Not yet, but I am working on it. I have a few friends who are well connected, I should be able to find something soon," said Strugis.  
  
Peter looked nervous and fiddled with his fingers, "I haven't found anything either," he said.  
  
"Not to worry Peter, we hadn't expected you to find anything yet. Just keep your ears open," Remus smiled at his friend.  
  
"Next order of business," said Dumbledore gesturing to Moody.  
  
"Right, we all need to be careful and to do that we need the latest model of the Sneekoscope 500. It is guaranteed to detect even the slightest trace of evil doings. They are very expensive, but it will be worth the money in the end. I want everyone in this room to have one in their house by the end of this month," said Moody.  
  
James rolled his eyes. "If it detects every trace of evil, then it would be going off every second in some households," he said grinning at Sirius.  
  
"Well it is better to be safe then sorry. If you don't want the Sneekoscope 500, then I could equip you with man eating garbage cans," Moody suggested.  
  
"NO!!" cried everyone.  
  
"Then it is settled, bring in 30 galleons to the next meeting and I will get you all a Sneekoscope 500," he said.  
  
Everyone agreed. James laughed inside about the man eating garbage can. Sirius would want one of those more than a Sneekoscope 500. He could just imagine his friend using it on his neighbors who were supposedly growing even more annoying by the minute.  
  
The meeting concluded as everyone started to leave as the night wore on. Soon only Lily, James, Amy, Teresa, and Gloria remained. "Thank you so much for coming tonight," said Lily turning to her three friends.  
  
"No problem Lily, always willing to help out a friend," said Teresa.  
  
"Yeah, and after what happened to Rain I'll do anything to fight off this evil," said Amy confidently.  
  
"Lily, every time you have ever needed anything I have always been there. Whether it was planning a prank on James or picking out a new set of dress robes, I have always been there. This is just one of those times when we need to all stick together. I am sure that if she was better, Rain would be here as well," said Gloria.  
  
Lily hugged each of her friends as they got into the fireplace to leave. They disappeared into the whirling green flames leaving Lily and James alone in their empty house. Lily got the chills as she walked up the stairs to her room. It was at this meeting that she realized that she and James could be next; they could be the next reported murder in the prophet.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Peter arrived in his fireplace in his living room. The clock on the wall read 11 pm. He ran to his messy desk at moved the stacks of parchment around haphazardly looking for a blank sheet, a quill, and a bottle of ink. He then sat down at his desk and began to write all of the names of the Order of the Phoenix that he could remember. Peter stopped writing for a brief moment as words from his Hogwarts days came back to haunt him. "Friends forever..." "Traitors always get what they deserve..." "We can all trust each other..." "We will always be by your side, Peter..."  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
The Daily Prophet had no more news of deaths until one week later. Everyone in the Order of the Phoenix sat bewildered at their breakfast tables the morning of October 1st, as they stared at the front page of the prophet. There was a picture of a house that was completely demolished. The attacker had struck again. This time the victim was one of the Order, Marlene McKinnon's family. Many members of the Order began to have second thoughts about being apart of their little defense group.  
  
It could have been a coincidence that one of the Order members had been killed, but according to Moody, who was making a very big deal about this attack, nothing was coincidental. Dumbledore spent many hours trying to console the members and to shut Moody up, trying to convince him that he was going to drive away all of their members. Moody had caused such an up roar that members were asking him how the man eating garbage cans worked and how much one would cost.  
  
James of course had kept his cool, knowing that Marlene wasn't the easiest person to get along with. He kept insisting that she had just had a grudge with the enemy. But, a grudge wasn't a good reason to kill off her 4 children and husband too. There was something going on. Had word reached the enemy?  
  
Gloria had spent many days over at the Potter house with Lily trying to find the answer to questions that people had. Gloria, Amy, Teresa, and Lily had become the people that Daily Prophet reporters were bombarding with questions on the street ever since the attack on Rain. So, since Lily and James lived on private property, the reporters couldn't reach them at her house. They had officially named Lily's house as their hide out.  
  
James' Quidditch practices had moved from Tuesdays to Mondays and Thursdays, leaving Lily alone quite often now, but she dare not leave the house because of the reporters. Teresa on the other hand, loved answering questions and begged for attention. Gloria was always warning her not to answer their questions because of the possibility of revealing the Order to the media. That was the last thing that they needed, for someone to let their presence slip. Then they wouldn't stand a chance of having their meetings in secret.  
  
Lily was now finding it very difficult to hide the fact that she was expecting, and one day Gloria guessed it. They were sitting on Lily's bed flipping though the scrap book when she brought it up. Lily was relieved that she could finally share her news with someone. She made sure that Gloria promised not to tell anyone about it. "It is so wonderful Lily! I am so happy for you and James!" she squealed when Lily spilled the beans.  
  
Lily blushed. "We didn't want to tell anyone just in case something happened," she said.  
  
"Oh, Lily, I hope that nothing terrible happens, it will be so nice to come over to your house and see a little child running around the yard! I hope it's a girl," Gloria sighed.  
  
"I don't care what it is, as long as it is a healthy and a witch or wizard. I couldn't imagine having a squib for a child. That would be awkward," Lily laughed.  
  
"Yes it would be. How did James handle the news?" she asked.  
  
"He was shocked of course, but it is natural for most people. I think he is going to make a great father," Lily sighed.  
  
"He will be, don't worry," laughed Gloria flipping to the next page in the scrap book.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Peter lay tossing and turning in his sleep. Was he doing the right thing? Once again quotes started coming at him, "Traitors get what they deserve..." "We are a team..." "Best friends never tell on best friends..." "When one person goes down, we all go down with him..." "Friends always stick together..." "We would do the same for you Peter..."  
  
A/N- Sorry it took me so long to post this chapter! I had it all written out and then I dropped it in the hall way at school. It isn't as good as the original, but oh well. I have decided that I am going to do a sequel if I get enough positive reviews from this story. I have grown very attached to writing about Lily and James so I have no idea how long this story is going to be, I don't really want to kill them off! Well next chapter I am hoping to introduce some death eaters, kill off a few more people and stuff. Well, I have less than 40 days of school so hopefully I will be able to write longer chapters in the summer! 


	11. Green Light

2 months later  
  
Lily sighed as she looked into her closet mirror and then to the jeans lying on her bed. There was no way that she would be able to fit into them now that she was 2 ½ months pregnant. She put her hands to her stomach, it wasn't too much bigger, but it was big enough not to fit into her favorite pair of blue jeans. James walked into the room and gave Lily a hug. He had finally gotten used to the fact that he was going to be a father and couldn't wait for the 9 months to be up.  
  
"Do you have Quidditch practice today?" Lily asked.  
  
"No, we haven't started the new season yet. Doesn't seem like we really need to practice anymore after winning every game that we played along with the Quidditch World Cup," James said motioning to the giant gold cup that rested on his dresser.  
  
Lily sighed and leaned into his shoulder. She hadn't gotten any sleep last night. "Any attacks mentioned in the Daily Prophet?" she asked.  
  
"No, thankfully. It looks like the attacker has decided to lay low for a while," said James.  
  
"There haven't been any attacks since they caught that Harris guy for murdering the McKinnons. Do you remember him from school?"  
  
"Yes, he was always strange and always up to something. I was always surprised that he was in Hufflepuff, if I were the Sorting Hat I would have put him in Slytherin," said Lily.  
  
James laughed. "Yeah, but no one wanted to be in Slytherin back then, and besides, he's not a pure blood," he said.  
  
Lily nodded. It was a well known fact that only pure bloods could get into Slytherin. Lily had luckily been chosen to join Gryffindor and knew that there was no way that she could be landed in Slytherin because she was a mudblood meaning she has non magic parents. Lily strolled over to the bed and flopped down on it, James following be hind her. She reached her hand over to him and grabbed his hand. "What are we going to do, James?" she asked.  
  
"About what?" he asked.  
  
"It is going to be a dangerous time to raise a child," said Lily.  
  
"Lils, with the Order all ready formed we might be able to catch who ever it is before it is born," he smiled moving closer to her.  
  
Lily sat up and rested herself on top of the pillows. James pulled himself up and leaned on her shoulder. "I sure hope we stop all of this before the child is born," she sighed.  
  
"Lils, don't live in the future, you'll miss all of the beautiful things happening in the present," he said kissing her on the lips. He wrapped his arms around her waist.  
  
Lily found it hard to lapse into the other world as she usually did while kissing James. She couldn't help but think about the future and who was going to make the front page of the prophet next. James could sense her tenseness and moved one of his hands up to her face lightly stroking her cheek. He felt her relax a little as their tongues began to frolic in her mouth.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
A high pitched cackle sounded that night, 200 miles away from the Potter house on Glen Street. There was a flash of green light that reflected throughout the whole block, but everyone was asleep. No one heard the crash as little old Mrs. Redner fell backwards into her china cabinet. There was no time for her to scream as her last breath got caught in her throat. Peter was shaking as he left the house. His first mission had been fulfilled. He had succeeded in punished Mr. Redner for not responding to his master's black mail.  
  
Peter's master was in the process of recruiting followers, or as he called them, Death Eaters. It was his job to make sure that the most powerful wizards were on his side by forcing them to respond to black mail. Peter felt guilty as he walked home that night and once again fell into an uneasy sleep.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Lily awoke in the middle of the night and sat up. James snapped his eyes open and looked over at her. Lily was now shaking violently. James sat up and put his arms on her shoulders. "Lily! What's wrong?!" he yelled.  
  
"I don't know, I just had a bad feeling, that's all," she said putting her hand up to her face.  
  
James laid her back down and held her in his arms. "Everything is going to be alright," he whispered in her ear.  
  
Lily flipped over to face him and nestled her head under his chin. James held her tighter and slowly her breathing returned to normal. He leaned his head down and breathed in the light vanilla scent of Lily's hair. "James, that tickles," she said sleepily kissing his neck. She sighed and slowly she drifted off back into her troubled sleep. James sat by her side awake just incase she had another unexpected awakening. He looked over at the clock and his eye lids began to drop as he watched the hands move.  
  
A/N- Chapter 12 is coming soon!! 


	12. Visit From Amy

The Daily Prophet the next morning reported the death of little old Mrs. Redner. It gave a brief summary of her life and a list of her personal achievements. Mr. Redner had an interview posted about the nights events on page three which cleared up the rumor that one person was killing everyone. Mr. Redner stated that the murderer wasn't alone. His side kick locked Mr. Redner inside of the cellar and he heard a crash and heard voices talking to each other. One sounded worried while the voice that he recognized as the man who locked him up sounded confident.  
  
Lily woke up in the morning to find the bed empty. She looked over at the clock and saw a note on her night stand. She sat up and unfolded it. Of course, it was from James. It read:  
  
Dear Lils,  
I had to go over to Sirius' house for a bit. His brother is having serious problems and Sirius thinks that something may be wrong. I hope we can sort out the problem soon.  
Love you always,  
James  
  
Lily sighed. It looked like she was going to have to fend for herself for the time being. She dragged her feet across the floor and went into the bathroom to get herself ready for the day. Lily got out of the shower and rubbed off the steamy mirror of her vanity. Realizing that he had forgotten her clothes on top of her dresser she wrapped her towel around herself and went back into her room. She closed her bedroom door, got dressed, and headed back into the bathroom to apply her makeup and style her hair.  
  
A bird was singing outside of the window. Lily ran over to the window, mystified at what type of bird would be out singing two weeks before Christmas. She grinned when she saw a beautiful gold finch perched on her window sill. She opened the window, held out her finger to the bird, and brought it inside. The gold finch began to glow and turned into Lily's friend Amy. "So nice of you to fly by," Lily said.  
  
Amy got up off of the ground and dusted herself off. "That was a long cold flight, but I had to see you," said Amy.  
  
"What's up, Amy?" Lily asked.  
  
"Well I heard that someone was expecting," she giggled.  
  
Lily blushed. "You heard correctly."  
  
Amy squealed. "Oh my gosh! I thought that Gloria was pulling my leg!"  
  
"Since when has Gloria been known to lie?" Lily laughed.  
  
"Well I don't know, it's just the fact that we are all so young," said Amy flopping on Lily's bed.  
  
Lily hadn't thought of this before. She was only 18. "I hadn't thought of that before," she said frowning.  
  
Amy smiled a fake smile, "Come on, you can handle it. At least you are married to someone who, unbelievably, has common sense."  
  
Lily cheered up a bit. "So how has it been going with you and Sam?" she asked. Sam was Amy's boyfriend that she had had since the end of her 7th year at Hogwarts.  
  
"Oh, everything is great. I get to meet his parents next week. Well you know how they are, rich and proper. I hope they like me because if they don't they'll find someway to get rid of me," said Amy.  
  
"Don't worry Amy, they'll love you, there is no reason for them to hate you," Lily said.  
  
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Besides, I have nothing to hide," she said. Then changing the subject she added, "So, do you know if it's a boy or a girl yet?"  
  
"Well, we only found out about 3 months ago, so not yet," said Lily.  
  
"Well you have to think of names for it!" said Amy sitting up on the bed rolling her eyes at her.  
  
"James and I haven't talked about names yet," Lily said.  
  
"So, you have known for three months and haven't told anyone yet?" she asked.  
  
"Well, we didn't want very many people to know just incase something happened," said Lily.  
  
"Did you at least tell your parents?"  
  
"No, they would totally flip out! But James' parents know. Well you know James, he couldn't keep a secret if his life depended on it."  
  
"You are going to have to tell your parents eventually."  
  
"I know I just don't want to tell them yet."  
  
"Can you imagine the look on your sister's face when she finds out?" laughed Amy.  
  
Lily smirked. "Petunia would be furious and maybe even a little jealous on the inside. She and Vernon have been trying for the longest time to have a child, but they haven't succeeded yet, although this jealousy would be covered up with crude remarks."  
  
Amy put on her best Petunia voice and said, "Can't wait to see what this child is going to look like."  
  
Lily laughed. It did sound like something Petunia would say. "Oh I can't wait to see what some of her children are going to look like; especially if it has Vernon's eating habits!"  
  
Amy laughed and clutched her stomach. "Better make sure to stock up on food when they come to visit," she said between laughs.  
  
"They'll never come here, especially if we have a young witch or wizard in the house!" said Lily.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
James walked into the house and heard giggling coming from over head. He shook his head, Amy must be over. He would know that laugh anywhere. It had haunted him all through his days at Hogwarts, but it did come in handy. Amy's laugh was the signal to jump out of the way to avoid one of Lily's hexes.  
  
He walked up the stairs and into his room to find Amy and Lily sitting on the bed laughing. "Not talking about me, are you?" James laughed walking over to the bed, sitting next to Lily.  
  
"Of course not sweetie, we are talking about my sister," said Lily.  
  
"Usually when you talk about your sister you have tears of rage pouring out of your eyes," James teased.  
  
Lily playfully hit him. "We are making fun of her, thinking about what her children will look like," she said.  
  
James wrinkled his nose. "I think that we should make it illegal for her to have children. They would be able to give this new dark power a run for its money; it would be able to kill with just one look. Our world is doomed."  
  
Amy laughed even harder and fell over on the bed. James slipped his arm around Lily's waist and pulled her close. She leaned against him and heard Amy's laughs becoming distant as she breathed in his aroma of the outside air.  
  
A/N- Sorry it took forever for me to post the chapter! It took me a while to start it and as soon as I finished I went to post it and my computer wouldn't let me onto fanfiction.net. I guess one of the reasons it took me so long to post was the fact that I just realized a few nights ago that I had to kill Lily and James at the end. I don't want to, but I have to in order to stay with the plot that J.K. Rowling has already set up, but I have decided that I am definitely writing a sequel. Chapter 13 should be up in a little while, but I have decided to post only once or twice a week so I can write the chapters to the best of my ability, instead of posting 2 chapters a day like I did when I first started (I wish I could still do that!) !!!!!! 


	13. Surprise!

Lily awoke abruptly as a pillow came crashing down onto her face. She opened her eyes and saw James sitting up in bed holding a pillow. In one swift movement she pulled the pillow out from behind her head and whipped it at James. He laughed and hit her back. "James...you...are...so...immature..." Lily said separating each word by hitting James with a pillow.  
  
James laughed and began to walk out of the room still holding his pillow. She heard him walking down the stairs. Lily followed still clutching onto her pillow. Once she reached the last step she again got hit with a pillow. "James! What is the big idea!" she screamed.  
  
"Merry Christmas to you too, Lils," he laughed running towards the Christmas tree.  
  
Lily gasped when she saw the huge pile of presents sitting under the gleaming Christmas tree. "What time is it?" she asked.  
  
"About four in the morning," James laughed.  
  
"James!" Lily cried.  
  
"Hey, come on tell me you weren't excited about today," he said.  
  
Lily looked at him and smiled. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's open up those presents!" she said.  
  
James grabbed her hand and led her over to the tree, sat down on the floor and dragged Lily onto his lap. Lily felt like a little child again, waking up early on Christmas morning, starring in awe at all of the beautifully wrapped presents. "It's our first Christmas together, James," said Lily leaning her head against his shoulder.  
  
"I have already realized that," he whispered in reply.  
  
Lily sighed and closed her eyes trying to find a way to save the memory forever. A few short seconds later she felt a package being stuffed into her hands. She pried open her eyes and looked up at James who gave her a kiss on the forehead. "You really know how to ruin a moment," Lily laughed.  
  
"What, that kiss didn't help any?" he smiled giving her a pair of puppy dog eyes.  
  
Lily rolled her eyes and looked down at the present she was holding. Without even looking at the gift tag she could tell it was from her mother. Lily had gone through 18 birthdays getting gifts from her mother and could recognize the pristine wrapping anywhere. She carefully picked at one of the pieces of tape taking as long as humanly possible to open the first fold. James' hands were still around her waist, but Lily could tell that he was resisting the temptation of ripping the paper on the package to shreds.  
  
"We are going to be here for a week if you continue on at this rate," he joked.  
  
"Well we have the time," Lily smiled as she started to pick at another corner of the paper.  
  
"Come on Lils, you are killing me here."  
  
"No one said that you couldn't open a present as well."  
  
"I want to see what you got."  
  
"Liar."  
  
James smiled and grabbed the present out of her hands and stood up. Lily swung her arms around in the air. She shot him a death stare and he slowly backed up into the stairs. Lily got to her feet and took a step forward. James spun around and began to run up the stairs. Lily rolled her eyes and flicked her wand at the gifts under the tree and the followed her up the stairs. She went into her room and saw James lying on the bed with the present in his hands.  
  
"Real funny James," said Lily placing a hand on her hip. She heard a rush of air behind her and moved out of the way just in time for the presents to come pelting into the room and landed at the foot of the bed.  
  
"Come on, we have a present to unwrap," James said grinning. He grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the bed.  
  
Before flopping onto it he pulled a hand up to her cheek and pulled her into a kiss. Lily's hands automatically moved up his arms and around his neck. She felt James place his hand around her waist and pull her closer to him. His tongue brushed against her lips and Lily allowed it into her mouth. There were no words to describe the kiss. Some would call it perfect, but to Lily it went way past the definition of perfect.  
  
James pulled away and was glad that Lily protested at the idea of ending their kiss. He sat on the bed and handed her the present that he ran up the stairs with. Lily laughed and opened it. Inside was a pair of gold hoop earrings. They were beautiful. Lily's mother had exceptional taste.  
  
They kept unwrapping presents until they were swimming in a pile of bows and wrapping paper. Underneath all of the wrappings were various gifts including some baby essentials (from James' parents, Gloria, and Amy), cards, galleons, a brochure on man-eating garbage cans (from Moody), Fillibuster fireworks (from Sirius), chocolate (from Remus), a hand knitted sweater for each of them (from Molly Weasley), and an assortment of different wizard candies (from Dumbledore). James slipped off of the bed and walked over to his dresser. Lily could hear him rummaging around in his top drawer.  
  
Lily leaned back nonchalantly on the pile of pillows and flicked her wand watching as the wrapping paper disappeared. She heard James close the drawer and begin to walk over to her. He flopped down on the bed and crawled over to Lily holding a small gift box. "What's this?" she asked.  
  
"Did you really think that I was just going to get you that lame wizarding recipe book? Come on Lils," James said shaking his head.  
  
Lily laughed and reached out for the gift box. James pulled it out of her grasp. "Tell me how much you love me!"  
  
Lily sighed. "I love you James."  
  
"I love you to Lils," said James smiling.  
  
Lily clapped her hands to her mouth. James pulled her into a passionate kiss. "I know, you'd think we would have said it before," he whispered pulling her out of the kiss. Lily grabbed the back of his head and pulled him back into the kiss. Why hadn't they ever spoken these words to each other before? She would have to find the answer to this question later, once again she found herself leaving the troubled world behind.  
  
1 month later  
  
James paced nervously around the living room waiting for Lily to come back from her doctor appointment. Today she had gone in to find out if the baby was going to be a boy or a girl and if it was a wizard or not. James was hoping for a boy so he could train him to follow in his footsteps and be a pro Quidditch player, but he would be happy with whatever as long as it wasn't a squib and it was healthy. Time seemed to be passing excruciatingly slow and James needed something to keep his mind busy to keep him from going insane. He flipped through the latest Daily Prophet and found nothing worth reading.  
  
He was half way up to his room when he thought he heard something from downstairs. James turned around and ran down the stairs and to his dismay found that he had just imagined the noise. Now he really needed something to keep him occupied. Nothing was helping at all. James had now resorted to watching the T.V. which usually served as a dust collector and in his opinion, it was pointless to watch. What muggles call 'entertainment' isn't really all too entertaining. Everyone was yelling at each other on one channel, on another channel people were crying, and on another there were animated characters running haphazardly around the screen.  
  
James jumped as he felt a cold hand touch his face. He looked up to see Lily smiling at him. "So, what is it?"  
  
"Well it is a wizard," she said smiling.  
  
James felt a wave of relief come over him. "So is it a boy or a girl?" he asked growing more impatient by the second.  
  
"We are going to have a little girl!"  
  
A/N- MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Bet you weren't expecting that! 


	14. You Are Doing It Again

"Are you serious?" James asked standing up to face Lily.  
  
"Yes, quite serious," she replied putting her hands to her stomach.  
  
James looked at her in disbelief and placed his hands on her stomach. It was pretty hard to believe that there was a baby girl living inside. Lily looked up at James and she kissed him lightly on the cheek. "So what did you do while I was gone?" she asked.  
  
"Nothing really, watched some T.V. and sat around," said James sitting back down onto the couch.  
  
Lily sat down on the couch next to him and leaned her head onto his shoulder. She had gotten her wish for a little girl. Gloria and Amy would be thrilled to hear the news. Lily laughed to herself; her little girl was going to be very spoiled.  
  
"So when are you planning on telling your parents about it?" asked James.  
  
Lily had totally forgotten. She still hadn't told her parents. She sighed and ran a hand threw her hair. "I guess I'll have to sometime, I just need to figure out when and how to do it."  
  
"Hey, we're in this together, I'll help you," said James putting his arm around Lily's shoulders.  
  
"Yeah, you better help me! I can't do it on my own," said Lily playfully.  
  
"When am I not by your side?"  
  
Lily laughed. James had been by her side through thick and thin, even at times when she didn't want him there. "So when do you figure we should tell them?" asked James.  
  
"I don't know, they are having a party for Petunia's birthday next weekend..." Lily's voice faded away as an evil grin spread across her face.  
  
James laughed. "What is going through your head? I haven't seen that look in a while."  
  
Lily grinned even more. "Telling my parents at the party would turn everyone's attention to me. Petunia can't stand not being the center of attention."  
  
James found himself grinning to. "I have finally rubbed off on you."  
  
"No, you didn't do this; I always have ideas to rebel against my sister. This is going to be perfect. My parents will be thrilled and forget all about Petunia."  
  
"Don't you think that Petunia will try to pull something? I mean when have you been able to get her without her getting you back?"  
  
The grin disappeared from Lily's face. James had a good point. Petunia's retaliation was always ten times worse than Lily's pranks. "We'll just have to make sure she doesn't say anything."  
  
"How?"  
  
"Magic."  
  
"What?"  
  
"We can threaten her."  
  
"With what?"  
  
"Magic."  
  
"How is that going to work?"  
  
"She is afraid of magic."  
  
"I thought she wasn't afraid of anything."  
  
"We can get her to shut up."  
  
"Just don't hurt her."  
  
"We aren't really going to use magic."  
  
"Then how is that that supposed to scare her?"  
  
"All we have to do is make sure that she knows that we aren't afraid to use it on her. Just let her see that we have our wands in our pockets with out any of her friends seeing."  
  
"That could be hard."  
  
"Just follow my lead."  
  
"Can we stop talking like this now? I feel like I am on a crime scene."  
  
"Sorry, of course."  
  
"You are still doing it."  
  
Lily shook her head. "Sorry James, I tend to act funny while I am plotting against Petunia."  
  
"You would make a very bad agent, Lils," laughed James kissing her on the forehead.  
  
Lily sighed and nuzzled her head under his chin. She could feel James' chest going up and down as he inhaled and exhaled. She closed her eyes and listened to the steady beat of his heart. Lily felt calm and content knowing that she would finally be able to tell her parents about her little girl.  
  
James moved his hand over to Lily's face and tilted her head upwards so they were looking into each other's eyes. "I hope our little girl has your beautiful eyes."  
  
Lily laughed. "Let's just hope that she doesn't have your messy hair."  
  
"That was harsh Lily," James said.  
  
"Then why did you move closer to me?"  
  
"Nothing gets past you does it?"  
  
"Nope, not too much."  
  
"Lils?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"You are doing it again."  
  
"Sorry."  
  
James pulled her into a kiss.  
  
"That's one way to shut me up."  
  
"Well it isn't working is it?"  
  
Lily laughed and kissed him lightly on the lips. James' lips danced slowly with hers. They sat there for a while, undisturbed and content, unaware of what was happening else ware.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Positive my lord."  
  
"When is the child due?"  
  
"July."  
  
"Do you think that this could be the child?"  
  
"Well, I don't know. We didn't hear enough of the prophecy to determine if the one mentioned was a boy or a girl, my lord."  
  
"Well you had better find out!"  
  
A/N- Sorry about the short chapter! I just had to post and it looked like an okay spot to stop! It was mean of me to end chapter 13 the way I did, so I figured I had better post fast!! 


	15. Shut it

There was a loud knock on the door below. James groaned as Lily pulled out of their rather romantic kiss. Who the hell would be knocking at their door at 10 pm on a Sunday? "Lily, they can come back later," he whined as Lily wriggled out of his grasp and headed toward the bedroom door.  
  
Lily walked out of the room pretending not to hear James protests and excessive swearing. She walked towards the front door and turned on a few of the hall lights as she went. Standing outside was Sirius. "Hey, is James there?" he asked peering over Lily's shoulder.  
  
"Yeah, come in," Lily said moving aside so Sirius could step inside. "James! It's Sirius!" she called.  
  
James came down the stairs and into the kitchen where Lily and Sirius were seated at the table. "Hey, what's up?" James asked pulling a chair up to the table next to Sirius.  
  
"It's my brother; he hasn't come back from his trip to visit my grandmother yet. He said that he would be back 2 days ago. I am afraid that something has happened to him," said Sirius.  
  
"I thought that your grandma died in our 5th year," said James.  
  
"Yeah, that is why I am suspicious that he is up to something. He is never around anymore and we aren't that close," said Sirius.  
  
"What does your mother have to say?" asked James.  
  
"I don't even want to bother trying to have a normal conversation with her," said Sirius rubbing his head. "Damn that reminds me; she kind of destroyed the house this morning. Do you think I could spend the night here?" he asked.  
  
James looked over at Lily who nodded. "Of course Sirius, you can have the guest bedroom. Don't mind the mess, we are working on turning it into a nursery," said Lily.  
  
Sirius' expression lightened up a bit. "So did you find out anything about it?"  
  
"Well the baby will have magic powers, it is a girl, and she is due in July sometime," said Lily getting up from the table. "I'll go and get a bed set up."  
  
"No, don't worry, I'll just sleep on the couch," said Sirius.  
  
"Well then I am going to go to sleep," said Lily yawning. "If you need anything, Sirius, don't hesitate to ask."  
  
Lily went upstairs and slipped into the warmest pajamas that she could find. After brushing her teeth she slid underneath the covers. She pulled her arms up behind her head and tried to fall asleep. She heard James stroll in a few minutes later. "I figured you would have stayed up later," she said.  
  
"Nah, Sirius was tired," he said pulling on his pajamas. "Where were we?" he asked smiling as he crawled onto the bed.  
  
Lily laughed and sat up in bed. Before she got a chance to say anything James pulled her back into their previous kiss. Lily inched closer to him and he pulled her onto his lap. She slid her tongue into his mouth and stroked his lightly. James was moving his hands up and down her back and she let out a soft moan.  
  
He slowly lowered himself onto the mountain of pillows. He moved a hand up to the base of Lily's neck and was pleased to find that she was wearing the necklace that he had gotten her for Christmas. It was a diamond heart pendant on a gold chain. From the on looker's point of view it may have seemed like a regular necklace, but if they were to turn it over, they would discover that there were two letters intertwined on the back; and 'L' and a 'J'. The diamonds on the front would change light pink every time that Lily thought about James and light blue every time that James thought about Lily. So, most of the time, the diamonds were light purple.  
  
Except for now.  
  
James had observed that when ever they would get locked in a rather intimate kiss it would turn dark purple. The kiss slowed down a bit and Lily felt James' fingers playing with the curls in her hair. She rolled on her side as she would be sick if she spent another second lying on her stomach. James hands left her hair and wrapped themselves around her waist. Lily busied her hands trying to make his hair lie flat.  
  
James smiled and broke out of the kiss. "It isn't going to lie flat, don't even try."  
  
Lily laughed and sighed. "At least it isn't curly, then it would be a mess," she said grabbing the back of his head to pull him back into the kiss.  
  
A few passionate minutes passed before their lips separated again; Lily had fallen asleep. James was quite perturbed about it. How the hell could she have fallen asleep right in the middle of one of their most intimate kisses? He looked down at her and was about to wake her up when he thought better of it. Lily was smiling and her soft red curls were framing her face making her look like an angel. James was also pleased to see that the heart pendant was still dark purple.  
  
James curled his arms around her waist and put his chin on top of her head. He heard her give off a happy sigh and he held her tighter. He could still feel her lips on his and he slowly drifted off into an untroubled sleep.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Sirius had been staying at the Potter house for about a week and made a point of disrupting any husband-wife moments making James extremely miserable. That morning at breakfast James and Sirius were deep in conversation about Quidditch when the tea cups on the table began to shake. A loud 'boom' echoed across the town. Sirius sighed. "Mum has just blasted me off of the family tree."  
  
James snorted into his breakfast. "So she really hates you then?"  
  
Lily shot James a quick death glare before turning to Sirius with a sympathetic smile on her face. "Sorry to hear it Sirius."  
  
"I'm not! I have been waiting to be blasted off that tree for who knows how long! Finally I can leave the dirty name behind me," he said running his fingers through is hair smiling to himself.  
  
James was also smiling. "Wait to go Padfoot. You have finally succeeded in getting yourself blown off of the family tree! Lily, tell him what he has won!" he said in his very lame announcer voice.  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. "Grow up!"  
  
"Now what kind of prize it that, Lils?" asked James.  
  
"Do I not even get a kiss from the fair princess?" Sirius said looking serious.  
  
Lily smiled. "So, how long have you been trying to get off of your tree?" she asked.  
  
"Come on, just kiss me!"  
  
"Answer the question, it determines the length and type of the kiss," she said deviously.  
  
James jumped at these words. "Well, maybe just knowing that he has been blasted off of the tree should be good enough."  
  
"No, no, I did go through a lot of work to get off. I'd say about 3 years," Sirius smiled.  
  
James looked ready to kill. "Don't..."  
  
It was too late Lily had gotten off of her chair and gave Sirius a swift kiss on the cheek. James looked ready to kill. "James, come on, you have me all of the time," she said smiling.  
  
"Not since he turned up."  
  
"The prize was your idea, Prongs."  
  
"Shut it Padfoot."  
  
A/N- Well this was a less depressing chapter, don't expect the next one to be. I am seeing darker events in the mere future. Well chapter 16 might not be up for a while; I have been very busy lately. 


	16. Petunia's Party

It was the day of Petunia's party and Lily was going crazy. She was feeling nervous, evil, and happy all at once, which resulted in many out bursts of crazy ideas, many evil laughs, and frequent trips to the bath room. The caffenated coffee and a severe lack of sleep didn't help her condition at all. James tried to count how many times Lily walked up the stairs with one out fit on and came down with another, but it was impossible.  
  
As soon as James had her happy with one out fit, Lily would start the same stair running process except this time it was her hair that was changing. Next it was her makeup and so on until finally all she needed was to pick out a pair of shoes. "Lily you look gorgeous in anything!" James stated for the thousandth time. He glanced over a Sirius for support, but Sirius had fallen asleep on the couch.  
  
"I just want everything to be perfect," Lily sighed.  
  
"You'd get your sister jealous if you were wearing a card board box and bubble wrap!" James said throwing his hands into the air.  
  
"Maybe I just won't tell them today. They would handle it the same way any day. Wouldn't they?" she said pacing around the room.  
  
James wasn't sure if he was supposed to answer the question or not. Lily was silent for a moment. Maybe he was supposed to answer. He opened his mouth to answer when- "Don't answer that!" –rang across the room. James sighed and closed his mouth. Why were women so hard to figure out?  
  
Lily continued to pace around the room, deep in thought. She was trying to picture her parent's expression when she told them. Although, they would probably be able to tell as soon as they saw her, she was 4 ½ months pregnant and was beginning to show a bit more. There was no way that it would go unnoticed for too long. She just had to wait for the opportune moment to drop the bomb.  
  
It was now 12:35 pm. The party had started at 12; it was Lily's idea to be 'fashionably late'. James shuffled around the house searching for shoes and his jacket. Now to get Lily out of the house; that was going to take some planning and time. "This calls for Sirius," James muttered to himself. Sirius would have some way to get her out of the house fast.  
  
By the time 1 pm rolled around, the stair way leading upstairs was blocked off by a giant tree and Lily and James were locked inside of the family room with their wands in their hands. "Lily, you go first, I'll catch up. Just apparate already!" James protested.  
  
Lily opened her mouth to speak, but after James shot her a don't-even-think- about-it look she closed it. Lily rolled her eyes and waved her wand. James apparated behind her. He hoped that no one was in the guest bedroom which was their safe apparation point.  
  
He landed on a chair in front of the vanity. James looked around and saw Lily lying on the bed taking in deep breaths, preparing herself for what she had to do. After a rather awkward silence Lily stood up and walked over to James. He stood up and took her hands in his. She was shaking slightly and James could see the nervousness in her eyes. He gave her a reassuring kiss on the forehead before taking a step closer to the door.  
  
Lily reluctantly followed and let her hand rest upon the handle of the door. She felt James' hands move about her waist. She closed her eyes. Why couldn't she stay locked in his arms forever? James lowered his head and gave her a kiss on the neck. She still wasn't moving. He sighed and put one hand on hers which was still resting on the door knob and gently pushed the door open.  
  
"I can't do it, lets go back," Lily said starting to turn around.  
  
James put his hands onto her shoulders and spun her around so that she was facing him. He looked directly into her teary green eyes. "We didn't come all of this was for nothing. We are telling your parents today. I can't live in this secret forever," he said.  
  
Lily dropped her head so she was looking at her feet. "I just can't do it!"  
  
James put his hands on her cheeks and raised her head so she was forced to look at him. "We can't hide it forever."  
  
Lily started to cry and buried her face into his chest. "Come on, I want to see what your sister says when she finds out," James said smiling.  
  
Lily's head shot up immediately and she rubbed the tears away from her face. She grabbed James' hand and began to drag him down the hall. She had totally forgotten that her news was going to ruin her sister's day. She smiled to herself. It was all going to be perfect. Lily practically ran down the stairs dragging James behind her. The foyer was empty, but she could hear voices coming from the living room area in the door on the right. "This is it," she said smiling as she pulled open the door.  
  
Everyone was laughing and talking not noticing that anyone had entered. Lily scanned the crowd looking for her mother. It didn't take long to find her. She was the only other person in the room with flaming red hair, identical to Lily's except that her mother's was naturally straight while Lily's was naturally curly. She pulled on James' hand and began to drag him over to her mother.  
  
Mrs. Evans' eyes lit up when she saw her youngest daughter. It had been a long while since she had seen her, since her wedding most likely. James, of course, put on his good gentleman's act and kissed his mother in law's hand. Mrs. Evans blushed slightly. "So how are things as a married couple?" she asked after getting them drinks.  
  
"Things have been great, mom. We got our own house in a nice neighborhood," said Lily.  
  
"It has been a long while since we have been in touch," said her mother.  
  
"Haven't you been getting the owls I have been sending?" asked Lily.  
  
"Yes, there have been some owls dropping by, but I had no idea how to get the letters from them," said her mother.  
  
"It is very simple, Mrs. Evans. You could either hold out an arm for them to land on and then untie it off of its leg, or let it land on a chair and untie it that way," said James trying to be helpful.  
  
"Well," said Lily obviously trying to move on in the conversation, "you'll have to come and visit sometime. We would be happy to have you; we'll just have to tell Sirius to keep it quiet."  
"Sirius was the best man at your wedding right? The charming gentleman with the black hair that I danced with once or twice?" said Mrs. Evans blushing again.  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. "Yes mother, Sirius is staying with us. His dear old mum threw him out I am afraid."  
  
James was growing impatient. "I don't know how long he is going to be staying for. I mean he has been sleeping on the couch since the guest room is currently filled with the baby essentials."  
  
Lily shot him an evil glare. She wasn't ready for her mom to know, but there was no way to undo the damage. Mrs. Evans looked shocked. "What?" she screamed drawing all eyes to Lily and James.  
  
A/N- I think I am going to leave it here. (Amy, please don't kill me!!!) 


	17. We'll Make it

Mrs. Evans' scream echoed through the hall and Lily could feel her cheeks go red as all eyes turned towards them. The only sound to be heard was Mr. Evans making his way over to where they were standing. Lily buried her face into her hands and James nervously slipped his arm around her waist. He had really blown it this time.  
  
"What is going on, Katherine?" Mr. Evans whispered to his wife.  
  
Mrs. Evans shook her head and motioned for the three of them to follow her into the study. As she closed the study doors behind them, Lily could hear the party resume its normal liveliness. James had situated himself on the lumpy couch. Lily sat next to him and grabbed one of his hands in hers. Unless she was mistaken he was shaking slightly. Mr. Evans pulled his desk chair over so he was sitting across from Lily. Mrs. Evans, however, began pacing around the room still looking shocked.  
  
Lily laid her head onto James' shoulder and wished she could disappear. At least her father was a bit more understanding than her mother, but then again, Lily had never had to tell him that was expecting a child. She had always been her father's little girl, even after she received her Hogwarts letter. She could only hope that he would be understanding and happy for her as he always had been in the past.  
  
"Is someone going to tell me what is going on, or am I supposed to linger in the dark forever?" asked Mr. Evans.  
  
Lily opened her mouth to speak but James cut in. "Lily, I'll explain, I am the one who brought it up at the wrong time, I can fix it."  
  
"James, it was my stupid idea to tell them at the party in the first place, plus they are my parents," said Lily.  
  
"Mark, Lily is going to have a child," said Mrs. Evans who was clearly sick of Lily and James' quiet argument.  
  
Mr. Evans sat silently for a moment, contemplating the thought of being a grandfather. Lily was holding her breath and she felt the circulation being cut off from the hand that James was holding. Without warning, Mr. Evans lunged forward and hugged Lily and James.  
  
When they all broke apart Lily was pleased to see that he was smiling. The three of them sat starring at each other smiling and occasionally letting a tear escape from their eyes. "Is that all you are going to do, Mark?!" screeched Mrs. Evans  
  
"I see nothing wrong with the situation, Katherine. Lily is responsible, as she has proven on countless occasions and I can't think of anyone who loves and cares for her more than James does. I don't see why having a child is going to be such a big problem," he replied.  
  
Mrs. Evans was fuming. "She is 18 Mark!"  
  
"Age doesn't matter as long as they feel they are ready," Mr. Evans paused and looked at Lily and James before continuing, "and they look more that ready."  
  
Mrs. Evans opened her mouth a number of times during the next minute or two, but never managed to get a single sound out. Lily was relieved that her father was okay with her having a child. She didn't know what she was going to do if he had disapproved. She wondered whether it would have changed anything. No, it probably wouldn't have. She took in a deep breath. "Mother, are you going to accept it or not?"  
  
"I will never be able to accept it, Lily. I thought I was going to burst when I heard you were getting married, but some how I managed to get over it. This I wasn't expecting I must say, I really thought you had more sense than this Lily."  
  
"Mother, you always told me that our lives were planned out for us before we ever reached the earth and everything worked out for the better. I really think that I was meant to have his child and everything is going to work out for the better because it is never the end unless everything is alright, and if everything isn't alright, then it's not the end."  
  
Mrs. Evans looked like she was on the verge of tears. "It's just that you are so young, you're my little girl!"  
  
"If you didn't want me to grow up, you should have locked me up somewhere," Lily said bitterly.  
  
James looked over at her and for the first time was afraid of her. Her green eyes that were usually filled with love and compassion were now filled with anger and hate. Her face was turning red and he was constantly stopping her hands from grabbing her wand that was concealed in her pocket.  
  
The door creaked open and a shrill voice rang into the room. "Mother, it is time to cut the cake!"  
  
Lily groaned as she saw her sister smirking at her from the door frame. "What has Little Lily done this time?"  
  
"James, does she have to be our child's auntie?" Lily yelled furiously.  
  
Petunia looked very taken aback. "Can't wait to see this child; messy red hair, thin as ever, with obnoxious neon green eyes, and the word 'witch' stamped across her forehead," she said coldly.  
  
That was the last straw for Lily. She jumped off of the couch and tried to topple her sister. If James hadn't been holding her back, she may have well succeeded. "Lily! Control yourself! You don't want to hurt the baby just because she said some shit!" James screamed.  
  
Mrs. Evans ran out of the door with Petunia to go cut the cake before anything else could happen. Lily was breathing hard, but after a while James and her father were able to sit her back down onto the couch. After a few minutes of silence, broken only by the chorus of 'Happy Birthday' in the next room, James decided that it was time to go home before Lily could cause any further damage to anyone or anything. He hugged Mr. Evans good- bye and wished him the best of luck with his wife before turning to Lily.  
  
Lily wasn't there.  
  
She wasn't anywhere in sight.  
  
"Shit," James muttered. She could be anywhere.  
  
"I'll help you find her," said Mr. Evans.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"What the hell were you doing?" James yelled as soon as they had reached home. "You could have seriously injured your mother and sister!"  
  
"They would have deserved it!" Lily cried.  
  
James walked over to Lily who was standing by the kitchen table with her hands over her face and threw his arms around her. He held her tight and kissed her head as she began to cry. "Why the hell did we have to tell them?!"  
  
James sighed. "It was for the best, at least your father understood."  
  
"For just once in my life I wanted my mother to be happy for me. I guess it is just impossible!"  
  
"That's not true, Lils. She is going to be happy for you as soon as she gets over her shock."  
  
Lily continued to cry. James picked her up. "She is one person. You shouldn't let just one person ruin your happiness."  
  
Lily buried her head under James' neck as he carried her upstairs into their room, being careful not to wake Sirius who was sleeping in the living room. He sat with her in his arms on the bed until she stopped crying. They both leaned back onto the pillows. Lily closed her eyes and buried her face into James' shirt as he held her tighter. "We'll make it Lils, just you wait. We'll make it."  
  
A/N- Well I decided to do the spacing a little differently. If you like it this way better let me know in your review, if you like it better the old way tell me in your review. I think it might be a little easier to read and it makes it appear a bit less smashed. If you all like it better, I will go back and reformat the other chapters to be the same way.  
  
Well we got to meet Lily's parents and get to know them a bit. Take a wild guess who she likes more!  
  
More Order stuff and Peter soon, I promise! 


	18. Valentine's Day

A/N- Before I start I would like respond to and thank my encouraging reviewers:  
  
J.E.A.R.K.Potter- Thank you for reading my fic, and I shall try to make the chapters a bit more lengthy! Petunia is not pregnant at this point, although that was my bad, I think I was a bit unclear in chapter 12 when Lily and Amy were discussing what her future children would look like. I can see where you would get the idea that Petunia was pregnant.  
  
SHorTnSwEet9013- Possibly my most active reviewer and the only one that I have had the pleasure of talking to on-line! Instead of a sequel after Fate I have decided to do a prequel. I just can't give up Lily and James! Thanks a ton!  
  
Waha123- My first reviewer! Thanks!!  
  
Sarah- My neighbor! I don't know if you are still reading this, but thanks for your support in all of my stories!  
  
shadowphoniexstar- I gave Gloria a much more active role! Thanks for reviewing!  
  
KitKat- Thanks for the encouraging words!!  
  
Tanya J Potter- Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Ayla- Thanks for reviewing and for the Weasley children's ages!  
  
Luthien RhiannonCat5- Thanks for constantly reviewing!!  
  
aBIGpoptart- Thanks for reviewing and for being the only one to give me a death eater name!!  
  
mandyzcool- Thanks for taking your time to read and review Fate!  
  
Quiteona- Thanks for reviewing! I went back and fixed some of the grammatical errors in the first few chapters, not sure if I got them all, but hey I tried! And I did read and review your story! Keep writing it!!  
  
Queen of Day Dreams- Cute pen name! Thanks for reviewing! I try to update as often as possible even if it means shorter chapters!!  
  
Bloomz-baby- Orlando fan I presume! He rules! Thanks for reviewing! I shall try to update as much as possible!!  
  
SwiminWithFishies- Amy!!! So glad you decided not to kill me! I'll have to write the fic during band more often, the only good thing about midterms! I know you hate cliff hangers, so I shall try not to be mean (well not too mean at least!). You have to put up your story! Quick! Now!! Go!! Why are you reading this?!?!?!?! I told you to WRITE!! LOL!! See you at school!  
  
SugarMama- Glad you like it and came back to read it!  
  
DaNoNi- Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Now, I think that was everyone! If I forgot you, you can give me a virtual slap on the face and we'll call it even! Celebrating almost having 50 reviews! That is WAY more than I expected in just about a month! Glad you all like it! Continue to review! And now on to the part you have all been waiting for........Chapter 18!!!  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
It was unusual for an Order meeting to be in the early hours of the day, but, since it was Valentine's Day, Dumbledore made an exception. James had to replan his whole day with Lily because of it. Unfortunately, he was stuck inside listening to Sturgis' evaluations. He looked at his watch. If he hadn't been at the Order meeting he would have been enjoying a picnic with Lily in their magically heated backyard. James glanced over at Lily who was sitting next to him. She had her hands on her head.  
  
Lily noticed James watching her and turned her head to face him. She gave him a weak smile as he mouthed the words 'I love you'. Lily received a sharp nudge in her side from her friend Amy who was seated on her left and decided to pay attention.  
  
Correction.  
  
Try to pay attention.  
  
No matter how hard she tried to stay focused, she just couldn't. Why the hell would they have a meeting on Valentine's Day anyway? She smiled to herself when she pictured the expression that James had on his face when they received the owl from Dumbledore. It was a classic. But, Lily could see why he was so perturbed by it, he had spent the past week planning the day's events. In Lily's opinion, she didn't care where they were, as long as they were together.  
  
James looked over at Lily again. How long was this meeting going to last? He looked once again at his watch and guessed that he had been zoned out for the past 20 minutes, which meant that he only really paid attention for about 10 minutes. James just wanted the perfect Valentine's Day imaginable. That was all he wanted.  
  
"...and since all of your minds are elsewhere at the moment, I think we should call it a day," Dumbledore concluded, snapping James out of his trance.  
  
Everyone filed out quicker that usual hand in hand with their special someone. James waved his wand and the chairs disappeared. Lily was standing over by the window looking out. James grinned and walked over to her. Lily sighed as she felt his hands slip around her waist, but she continued to stare out of the window. James, very curious as to what was captivating his wife's attention, looked out of the window as well. To his dismay he found that it had begun to flurry. Lily sighed again. "Looks like the picnic is going to have to wait, James," she said gently, turning to face him.  
  
James didn't say anything. Today just wasn't turning out to be his day. Lily kissed him on the cheek, not knowing what to say. James closed his eyes and put his chin on Lily's head as he drew in deep breaths. "I guess we'll just have to improvise," he said after a moment.  
  
Lily nodded. "Come on, we could set up right here in the living room," she suggested.  
  
James had a grin on his face. "All right, we just have to set it up."  
  
"What are you smiling about?" Lily laughed.  
  
James shook his head and went off to get the picnic basket that he had prepared earlier. He set up the picnic in the living room. It was perfect, well at least it would be as soon as he added his finishing touch.  
  
Lily walked into her living room and gasped. There were white flakes falling from the ceiling. "James..."  
  
"Well, it was kind of plain before," he smiled walking over to her.  
  
Lily took the hand James was holding out to her and he led her over to the blanket. Lily noticed that there was no snow present on the blanket and smiled. "It's kind of like being in a snow globe, isn't it?" James smiled as they sat down.  
  
Lily laughed. "I always wondered what it would feel like to be inside of a snow globe!"  
  
They sat contently on the blanket amongst the swirling snow just enjoying each other's company. "This is perfect James," Lily sighed breaking away from a kiss, "As always."  
  
James laughed. "You're perfect."  
  
Lily blushed slightly, but it was hardly noticeable as her hair was framing her face. "I guess we should enjoy this Valentine's Day as much as we can. Next year we are going to have to share it with our little girl," she said.  
  
"She'd be old enough to go with a sitter then right?" James teased, nibbling on Lily's lower lip.  
  
Lily laughed and rolled her eyes. "I suppose so, but I think you are going to have to learn how to share."  
  
James groaned. "Do I have to?"  
  
"James, you sound like a child!" Lily laughed.  
  
"Sharing is so hard," he pouted.  
  
"Get used to it."  
  
James kissed her. "I don't have to share for another, what, 5 months, right?"  
  
"Yeah, 4 months," Lily sighed.  
  
"What are we going to name her, Lils?" James asked.  
  
"Well nothing that you can think of strange nicknames for," she laughed.  
  
"What's wrong with my nicknames?" James asked.  
  
Lily laughed. "Nothing, nothing."  
  
"I can give everyone a nickname, regardless of what their real name is," said James shrugging.  
  
"So what are your fabulous name suggestions?" Lily asked.  
  
James sat quietly for a moment. He hadn't really thought of names before. "I don't know. You give some ideas, you probably know more girl names than I do," he said.  
  
"Well we have a while to decide, there isn't a rush I guess," said Lily.  
  
"Shall we eat then?" asked James as he pulled the basket closer.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
The streets of Hogsmeade were filled with Hogwarts students. James wished that he had though of this before he suggested shopping to Lily. But, as he heard the new Head Girl shout in the middle of town, the crowd would be leaving in about an hour. Until then they had to refrain from anything more than holding hands while walking through the streets and shops.  
  
"So what are our plans exactly for the evening, James?" Lily asked leaning her head on his shoulder.  
  
"Well after this crowd clears out, we could probably go out to eat somewhere," said James looking down at her.  
  
"Can we please go somewhere other than the Three Broomsticks? It isn't exactly the most romantic place in the world," said Lily smiling.  
  
"Why would I bring you to the Three Broomsticks on Valentine's Day?" James laughed. "Don't worry, I have a cozy place in mind, and no, it isn't that coffee shop on the hill," he added remembering too well what happened the last time he set foot in to the coffee shop.  
  
"Yeah, that wasn't exactly our best date in the world," said Lily cringing.  
  
"I think I still have the burn from that coffee," James laughed.  
  
"Not to mention whenever we looked to our left we got to witness Sirius and his girlfriend's...er...extravagant display of affection," said Lily biting her lip.  
  
"That was embarrassing!" James laughed squeezing Lily's hand.  
  
She sighed. "I miss Hogwarts."  
  
"Yeah me too."  
  
"Come on, let's get out of the cold," said Lily motioning towards Honeydukes.  
  
"I think that someone just wants some candy," smiled James.  
  
"Only because someone's husband didn't get her any," she laughed.  
  
James could have kicked himself. How could he have forgotten? Candy was Lily's favorite thing in the whole world! "Sorry," he mumbled.  
  
Lily laughed as they entered the shop. "I'm not mad James! It must have just slipped your mind. You had a lot on it for the past week planning all of this for us."  
  
"Yeah, I guess. All of that planning and we only get to enjoy half of what I had planned. Stupid meeting," James said as he dragged Lily over to the Valentine's candy.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"How much further is this place?" Lily asked as they continued up the snowy hill.  
  
"Well I wasn't going to tell you until we go there, but I fixed up one of the rooms in the Shrieking Shack. You are going to love it!" said James enthusiastically.  
  
Lily laughed. "I am sure I will!"  
  
James opened the door to the Shrieking Shack and smiled when he heard Lily gasp in surprise. Rose petals were strewn about the floor and more were falling from the ceiling. Candles were lit and floating in the corners emitting different aromas in the room. There was a table with a red cloth in the middle of the room set for two. "James...this is beautiful!" said Lily.  
  
James looked at her and smiled. It was his best idea ever and Lily reacted exactly the way he had expected her to. Her face was red, her eyes were wet with tears, and her hands were over her mouth. James put the bags of candy down and slid his arms around her waste. Lily turned around and pulled him into a kiss. They stood there for a while, locked in happiness as rose petals collected at their feet.  
  
Lily finally broke away. "James...How?"  
  
James silenced her. "I owe it to you, Lils," he whispered into her ear and led her over to the table.  
  
Lily still had tears pouring out of her eyes which James wiped away. "It is a shame that you are soiling your beautiful face with tears."  
  
Lily laughed and looked down at her empty plate. "You didn't hire Sirius to be our waiter, did you?" she asked smiling.  
  
"No, he is off somewhere with some girl. I got those enchanted plates that Dumbledore used to put in the Great Hall on Christmas," said James.  
  
"They must have cost a fortune!" Lily screamed.  
  
"You are forgetting who I am and what I know. I am James Potter, Hogwart's greatest trouble maker, and I know every single passage into Hogwarts," he smiled.  
  
Lily smirked. "I see."  
  
James laughed. "Well what are you waiting for?" Order something!"  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
As dinner came to an end James stood up and motioned for Lily to do the same. With a wave of his wand the table and chairs disappeared and were replaced with a red fleece blanket. James waved his wand once more as he and Lily were getting situated and bowl of strawberries appeared. James picked out the reddest strawberry he could find and offered it to Lily who accepted it.  
  
"How many more surprises are you going to spring on me this evening?" Lily asked once she was done eating the strawberry.  
  
"You never know," he smiled offering her another strawberry, this time from his mouth.  
  
Lily smiled and bit onto the other end. Their lips met in the middle of the strawberry and stayed there until James bit it in half. Lily had an idea pop into her head as she delicately chewed the fruit. She grabbed her wand and waved it. "What goes better with strawberries than chocolate?" she laughed as a bowl of melted chocolate appeared along side of the strawberries.  
  
"Who made strawberries the official romance fruit anyway?" James wondered out loud as he dipped a strawberry into the chocolate.  
  
Lily looked at him and shrugged. James looked at the chocolate covered strawberry in his hand and then at Lily. He just could resist the temptation. He took the strawberry and brought it slowly to her face as she closed her eyes. James smiled and touched the tip to her nose leaving a dot of chocolate on it.  
  
Lily tore her eyes open to see James grinning. She shook her head and wiped the chocolate off of her nose. "Very funny James," she said taking the strawberry from his hand and eating it.  
  
"Hey! Who said that strawberry was for you?" James laughed.  
  
Lily swallowed. "The baby."  
  
"So what ever the baby says goes now, huh?" he chuckled.  
  
A rose petal landed on Lily's stomach and she smiled. "No, whatever Rose says goes," she whispered picking up the petal.  
  
"Rose...I like it," said James leaning in to kiss Lily.  
  
"You'd better like it," whispered Lily leaning into the kiss.  
  
The kiss started slow, but after a few seconds it grew into a passionate one. Lily outlined James' lips with he tongue and after a second his tongue met hers. He brought his hand up to Lily's cheek and she slung her arm around his neck pulling them closer together. James placed his free hand on the small of her back. Occasionally Lily would feel one of his hand reach up to brush away the rose petals that fell on them.  
  
They broke apart with childish smiles on their swollen lips. James looked at his watch and jumped up. "Come here," he said walking through the sea of rose petals to the small window.  
  
Lily followed him and they both stared out of the window. The sky was a mix of purples, reds, and blues as the sun set behind the snowy hills. Lily stared in awe. "We should be heading home, Lils," James whispered in her ear.  
  
She sighed and walked away from the window. "There are enough rose petals in here to go swimming in, James!" Lily laughed as she tried to find her jacket.  
  
"That could be arranged," smiled James.  
  
Lily laughed. "Maybe some other day, I am famished."  
  
James shrugged and was about to clear up the roses when he thought of a better idea. It would be a surprise for Lily. He flicked his wand and the roses vanished. James hoped they would end up where he wanted them.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"My Lord, I still don't understand why we don't kill it now," whined Peter.  
  
"There are worse things in life Peter."  
  
"The baby isn't even born. If we can kill it now it will never be a threat to you."  
  
"But Peter, if we kill it now, the Potter's will never have met her."  
  
"But..." an evil smile appeared on Peter's face. "They would have never been able to hold her or have any good memories with her."  
  
"Now you are thinking. Always look for the action with the outcome that will destroy someone the most."  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Lily and James lay side by side on their bed which was now covered with the rose petals from the shack. "This was the best Valentine's Day ever," Lily sighed.  
  
"You better believe it was," whispered James.  
  
"Can you believe that at this time next year we are going to have a little girl running around?" Lily asked moving closer to James.  
  
"No, sometimes I expect it all to be a dream and that I'll wake up someday and be back in my dorm at Hogwarts."  
  
Lily sighed and nestled into him. "Pretty soon we can have that family portrait taken to fill the first page of the photo album."  
  
"Yeah...I can't wait to see her," James sighed. "Our little Rose..."  
  
A/N- Has it really been just about a week since I last posted? Geez this chapter took me a while! Well, this was a slightly longer chapter so I guess I can see why it took me so long to write. I decided to go with the new formatting as it was easier to read. Well not much else to say except thanks again to my reviewers! 


	19. Still of night

A/N- I have been getting some reviews in which people think that Lily was told wrong when she found out her baby was a girl. This baby is NOT Harry, in fact, this story is set 2 or 3 years BEFORE Harry. Well I would say more, but that would kind of sort of ruin part of the plot...so I am going to shut up.  
  
It was dark when Amy returned home from her parent's house. It was rather chilly outside and, according to the Evening Prophet, it was supposed to get even worse. She stepped into the foyer of her house relieved to be back at home. As she walked into her kitchen, a chill ran up her spine. Amy whirled around expecting someone to be standing behind her.  
  
No one was there.  
  
Amy made herself a cup of coffee she kept her ears open for any odd noises and her wand close by her side. She moved out of the kitchen and stared down the long hall leading to her bedroom. Amy put down her coffee mug on the table and ran down the hall to the light switch which filled the hall with light. She went back into the kitchen, grabbed her coffee, and headed to bed.  
  
She curled up amongst her covers with a book in her hands. Once again the chill ran up her spine. Amy put her coffee on her bedside table with a shaking hand. She sat motionless for a few minutes before suddenly jumping off of her bed and crouching on the floor. She picked up her bed skirt with her wand in her hand.  
  
She was being stupid.  
  
Nothing was going to be under the bed.  
  
'Just in case,' she thought to herself as she peered underneath it.  
  
Amy let out a sigh of relief when nothing was to be found except for her favorite eagle feathered quill which she placed on her dresser.  
  
The thing that Amy hated more than anything in the whole world was being trapped in a silent room with her thoughts running wild. Back at Hogwarts Amy was known for her crazy, active imagination. It came in handy every once and a while. When James had a crush on her, for instance; she had convinced him that she was mentally insane and suicidal.  
  
Now her imagination was just scaring her.  
  
Amy finished her cup of coffee while reading, well reading without taking anything it, and tried to fall asleep. She kept hearing noises throughout the house and she could have sworn that Nemo, her pet gold fish who lived in a tank in her room, was talking to her.  
  
She heard the creaking of floor boards and footsteps in the hall.  
  
'Just my imagination," she thought.  
  
How wrong she was.  
  
Amy could have sworn she saw something move in the shadows of her room.  
  
'I am going crazy," she thought.  
  
Then, as if to confirm her suspicions, a woman's voice popped into her head.  
  
"Get out of bed, I have work for you," it said distantly.  
  
For some reason Amy obeyed. She got up and got dressed.  
  
"That's a good girl."  
  
Amy found herself smiling.  
  
"You know where the Halker family lives, correct?"  
  
Amy nodded.  
  
"Excellent. I think it is time to pay them a visit."  
  
If Amy hadn't been so tired, or eager to prove herself, she might have noticed a woman clothed in a black cape standing in the corner of her room. She would have seen the woman with her eyes shut in concentration quietly whispering.  
  
But Amy had not noticed this woman.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!  
  
It was a lovely morning, the freshly fallen snow was glistening in the sun light and a few muggle families could be seen laughing and playing in the snow together if you looked through the Potter's kitchen window.  
  
Lily and James had just sat down for breakfast after a good night sleep. Lily was sitting at the table with her hair up in a messy pony tail and was wearing her loose fitting pajamas. James was sitting opposite of Lily with his hair sticking up, if possible, even more than usual.  
  
They were talking about their plans for the day when the post arrived. It was the usual: Daily Prophet and James' Quidditch Supplies Catalogue.  
  
James grabbed this catalogue as Lily reached out to pay the owl for the Daily Prophet. He had reached page three of the newest Quidditch robe styles when he heard Lily's fork fall to the ground. He looked up and saw that she had her hand over her mouth and a shocked expression on her face.  
  
"What happened?" he inquired.  
  
Lily said nothing, but handed him the paper instead.  
  
On the front page was a picture of Lily's best friend Amy, behind bars looking fairly angry and depressed.  
  
'Amy Stephens, age 18, was arrested last night for murdering the two children of Brittany and Matt Halker. Eyewitness, Brittany Halker, claims that Amy rang their doorbell in Little Winging at around eleven at night demanding to be let in.  
  
"She came in talking about revenge and black mail, it wasn't clear  
what she was saying, she didn't look in the right frame of mind. I  
wasn't quite sure what she wanted, although Matt did seem to  
understand. He kept saying 'No, I won't do it,' and after a while, Amy  
just went crazy and started blowing things up. Little Caitlin just  
came running down the stairs to see what was happening and...and...and...Amy  
just blew her up too! Mark came down as well and Matt tried to stop  
Amy...from...from...from doing it again, but... but... but... nothing ...nothing...  
nothing... nothing would stop her!"  
  
Amy is pleading not guilty, saying that she didn't remember anything about that night, and she was never near the Halker's place. Ministry officials are currently investigating the scene and looking for any further evidence....'  
  
James threw down the paper and let out a low whistle. Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, this happens. Sure, he had expected something horrid to happen soon as the enemy had been lying low for a while now, but never had he expected anything along these lines. It just couldn't be true. Why would anyone one from the Order, especially Amy, do something like this?  
  
"She is innocent," Lily said confidently.  
  
"Well obviously, but how is everyone else going to see it?" said James burring his head in his hands.  
  
Lily shook her head. "I don't know James, I just don't know."  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"Well done, Kate, especially for a first timer," her master said throwing down a copy of the Daily Prophet.  
  
"Thank you my lord."  
  
"You will be fitting in rather well here I think."  
  
Kate nodded as she took off her black cloak and sat down in the chair across from her master and his sidekick, Peter. Her light brown hair was coming out of her messy bun and her shoes were still wet from being in the snow last night.  
  
"You have succeeded in doing two things for me. One, you have gotten rid of one of the smartest witches in Britain, and two, you taught the whole wizarding world a very important lesson: No one says no to Lord Voldemort."  
  
A/N- Well that was fun to write...Many characters in this chapter were based off of people that I know. I updated quickly! Yeah! And the chapter was still pretty decent in length too! 


	20. Visitor I

The next few weeks that passed were fairly depressing. Lily, James, and the rest of the Order were asked to attend the Halker children's funeral as Matt was a member of the Order. James was extremely uncomfortable at funerals. There was nothing to joke about at them.  
  
The Daily Prophet was still reporting about the Halker's murder. Eyewitnesses began to pop up out of no where offering the most lurid stories about what had happened that night. Amy was being depicted as a psychopathic mass murderer. Even so, she held her head high and kept herself convinced that she wasn't guilty. There was no way that she could be guilty.  
  
Amy had been tested by all of the truth potions and had gone through many question sessions and finally the Ministry of Magic decided to put her on probation until her trial at the end of March. Amy was ecstatic.  
  
But, all happy things come to an end.  
  
Even though Amy had passed all of the tests and was sure to plead not guilty at her trial, the wizarding world still doubted her.  
  
This was why Amy had never shown faith in people except for the people who had faith in her.  
  
Although there was one person Amy never thought would turn on her.  
  
Her boyfriend Sam.  
  
This is what made Amy feel depressed on the day she was let out of Azkaban on probation.  
  
She thought he would have been happy. She thought he would have shown faith in her as she had shown faith in him. She thought he would still love her. She thought he would put it all behind him. She thought he could forget. She thought that they could just move on. She thought he was going to be there for her like he promised to be.  
  
He wasn't.  
  
Amy made another break through on that day.  
  
You can never trust a man to keep a promise. No matter how much they say they love and care for you. You can never trust them to keep a promise. Amy wasn't one to stereotype, but she realized that it was true. She couldn't believe that she hadn't seen it before.  
  
Love does funny things to the mind.  
  
It clouds your vision and impairs your judgment. Amy's mother had always told her not to let love take over her life. Amy had listened until she had met Sam. She thought he was different.  
  
Everyone guesses wrong every once and a while.  
  
So now here she was sitting alone in her house. Lily, Gloria, and Teresa had been over earlier that day. They had been over when Amy received the letter from Sam. They had seen the cheer fade from her eyes. Amy knew that she could ask them to come over at any time, but right now she just wanted to be alone.  
  
Sometimes being alone was for the better.  
  
Amy shivered and felt her eyes begin to well up with tears. Was this how she was to live the rest of her life? Was everyone going to find her as a freak now? Her heart gave a huge lurch.  
  
This was exactly how Remus lived.  
  
Her past began to revisit her. She had been so cruel to him when she found out he was a werewolf. It was the one thing that Amy regretted in her life. She had ended that beautiful relationship because she was afraid of him, just as Sam was afraid of her.  
  
Amy found tears streaming down her face. She had been so cruel that night, just staring at him with a look of disgust on her face before turning and running away from him and out of his life.  
  
God, she needed to talk to him.  
  
Would he ever be able to talk to her again? He would be the only one who could possibly understand her. Amy needed to talk to Remus. She needed to talk to him again.  
  
How could she have been so stupid?  
  
Amy got off of her bed and walked down the hall and into her living room.  
  
She had no idea how long she stood in front of her fireplace holding the floo powder in her hand before she threw the dust onto the fire. Amy held her breath as she stepped into the green flames. She couldn't get her hopes up too high, she knew that much. She just hoped that Remus would understand.  
  
Most of all she wished he would forgive her.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Remus was sitting on his bed reading over the Evening Prophet. It was cruel what the media could do to someone. It was cruel how they could manipulate the kindest people into looking hideous.  
  
He knew how it felt. He had felt it on numerous occasions himself.  
  
It was too hard to count how many friends he had lost when they found out he was a werewolf.  
  
It was even harder to count how many girlfriends he had lost.  
  
That is why Remus had taken the vow never to love again.  
  
God, he missed the feeling of being loved. He missed having someone to look forward to seeing each night. And he missed holding someone in his arms. He missed being able to comfort them.  
  
A noise from down below brought him back to life. It sounded like it was coming from the living room.  
  
Remus went downstairs figuring it was going to be James or Sirius. He reached the living room and tried to find the light switch. Damn eye sight.  
  
Before he could even find the switch he felt someone's lips on his.  
  
This cleared all possibilities of his guest being James or Sirius.  
  
Surprisingly he kissed back. The lips felt awfully familiar.  
  
Then it hit him.  
  
Amy.  
  
A/N- Don't know what I was thinking in this chapter. I know that Remus' eye sight would probably be better in the dark, but quite frankly I don't give a damn at this moment. 


	21. Visitor II

A/N- Sorry, I have to write a bit about Amy and Remus. Don't worry, more Lily and James stuff soon (a little in this chapter) I just needed to set something up with Amy and Remus to go along with the end of the story (which won't come for a while)!! Don't kill me for not doing as much Lily and James action, it is coming, I can guarantee it!!  
  
Remus didn't know what to say or think of the situation.  
  
So he did the only thing he could do; he continued to kiss Amy.  
  
He felt her tense nervously as he brought his hands to her hips. He kissed her harder as if to tell her that everything was going to be okay.  
  
Amy didn't get the message. She pulled away.  
  
Remus sighed, he had forgotten how much he loved her.  
  
Forgotten was such as strong and painful word.  
  
No, he hadn't forgotten her, just misplaced her for a while.  
  
"Remus..."  
  
He put a hand up to her red lips to silence her. "I know Amy."  
  
"I am sorry, Remus. I acted terribly last year."  
  
"You acted like everyone else, Amy," he whispered.  
  
"I don't know why I acted the way I did."  
  
"I do, trust me, I do. It was partially my fault. I shouldn't have waited so long to tell you," said Remus feeling his eyes begin to burn with tears.  
  
"I don't know why it took me so long to see that it shouldn't matter. I guess I was just so shocked at the news," Amy cried.  
  
Remus pulled her into a hug. "Sometimes you need to feel how certain things feel to get the point," Remus laughed. "That didn't make any sense did it?"  
  
He heard Amy laugh, something he hadn't heard in so long. Remus could help but smile. "God, I missed you so much Amy," he thought out loud while taking in the scent of her hair.  
  
"I missed you too, Remus, every damn day," she replied. "I missed your arms around me, your gorgeous eyes," she said now looking at him, "your soft loving lips," she said tracing them with her fingers, "your hair..."  
  
Remus laughed as her fingers stroked his hair.  
  
"...your laugh..."  
  
Remus held her tighter. "I missed you more than you can imagine. The way we used to curl up together under that oak tree on the grounds and watch the sun set behind the lake. The way you made me laugh and feel happy. Your soft skin," he said while stroking her cheek causing her to smile, "the dimple on your left cheek when you were smiling at me, the way your eyes would light up when I looked at you..."  
  
His voice trailed off and the smile left his face. "What?" Amy asked wiping away her own smile.  
  
Remus grabbed her hands in his. "What about Sam?"  
  
Amy brought her face closer to his. Her lips were a whisper from his.  
  
Remus' heart was pounding for some reason he couldn't fathom. He could see the unshed tears shining in her eyes. These tears were full of anger, fear, but most of all hurt. Remus wiped away a tear as it fell from her eye.  
  
"Sam left me," she whispered as her voice began to break.  
  
"Oh," was all Remus could say. Part of him was happy, Amy was all his if they chose to go down that road again, but part of him was afraid; was she ready to leave Sam?  
  
The space between them disappeared as their lips were reunited again.  
  
Remus felt Amy's hands move up his arms and to his neck. He automatically began to outline her lips with his tongue. Amy allowed it in with a feeling of relief. This was the way things were supposed to be.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"James, stop it," Lily moaned sleepily kicking her husband.  
  
James gasped. "What was that for?" he asked groggily.  
  
"Stop poking me!" she said angrily.  
  
"Lily, I've been asleep."  
  
Lily felt a jab in her stomach once again and she understood. "Oh my gosh!"  
  
"What?" James asked sitting up.  
  
Lily grabbed his hand and brought it to her stomach. James gasped in surprise.  
  
Something poked him.  
  
"Is that...Rose?" he asked looking bewildered.  
  
Lily nodded and smiled. "Quidditch player, you think?" she laughed.  
  
"Definitely," James said as he tenderly kissed Lily. "And a damn good one I'd bet," he said breaking away for a slight second with his trade mark grin on his face. James rolled back onto his back and fell asleep easily fell asleep. His daughter was going to follow in his footsteps.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Remus awoke in the morning and found his arms wrapped around Amy. He sighed and smiled to himself; things were back to the way they were supposed to be. He kissed her head and she moaned in her sleep. Remus propped himself up on his elbow and watched her as she slept. Her chest moved up and down at a steady pace, her face was calm and unconcerned; her beautiful brown hair framed her face. She was perfect.  
  
Remus knew he was lucky to have her and that this time she wasn't going to leave him. They had had a talk last night about everything that had been happening. Amy spilled her deepest fears and concerns to Remus and he sat and listened, saying the right things at the right times. He even spilled some of his fears and secrets to her.  
  
He decided one thing for certain last night. He wasn't going to keep any more secrets from her, not a single one. Secrets can be good when you can use them to your advantage, but in the end all they do is hurt people.  
  
Amy's eye lids fluttered open and she sighed when she saw Remus' blue eyes looking down at her. Amy smiled as he kissed her forehead. Life was good and nothing could ruin it.  
  
And this time, Amy guessed right.  
  
A/N- Another shorter chapter with hardly any Lily and James sobs. Sorry, more with L/J in the next chapter, promise!!!!! 


	22. Paintings in the Stars

A/N-Hey!! Well I am happy today!! Although none of you really probably care, I won a band award!!! Not the one I wanted, but still, I got the second best one. So I am happy which means a happy chapter opposed to the previous sad ones that I wrote when I wasn't so happy.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
James felt his eyelids begin to drop and snapped them open. He had gotten into the nasty habit of slipping out of focus during Order meetings lately. Sometimes he wished that something would happen.  
  
Well, as his parents had always said, 'No news is good news.'  
  
To James, no news was boring.  
  
He glanced around the room which was a bit less crowded than usual. After the attack on the Halker children many members had dropped out or found other excuses not to come anymore.  
  
Cowards.  
  
Dumbledore was not pleased when he saw the turn out, James could tell. The Seekoscopes had come in, but according to Moody, they were defective and had to be sent back immediately. James laughed when he had heard this. When the new order came in, Moody would probably say the same thing.  
  
James looked around the room, hearing Dumbledore talk distantly in the background. He wasn't the only one not paying attention; everyone seemed a bit restless that afternoon in March. Lily was on his left and looked like she was at least trying to pay attention, but James knew that she wasn't.  
  
Sitting across the room from them was Remus and Amy who were obviously not paying attention. They kept smiling at each other and occasionally one would lightly kick the other. James was still trying to figure out what was up with them. James shrugged the question out of his mind as his eyes continued to travel around the room.  
  
Peter was sitting by Sirius elbowing him every once and a while to wake him up. James caught his friend's eye and Sirius put on his let's-cause-some- trouble look. James smiled back wishing they could. He had just bought a box of Fillibuster Fireworks that would have livened up the meeting immensely.  
  
James let his eyes wander back to Lily who had apparently given up on paying attention as well. She had her head in her hands and laughed when Gloria whispered something in her ear. James reached out and grabbed Lily's hand trying to occupy himself in some way.  
  
Lily laughed and put his hand on her stomach to let him feel Rose kicking again. She was definitely going to be a Quidditch player. She never ever stopped moving according to Lily. James laughed as he felt her moving about inside of Lily and she smiled at him.  
  
"What is going on between Amy and Remus?" he whispered looking over at his friend again.  
  
"Not now James, I'll tell you later."  
  
'I'll tell you later.' Why couldn't anyone understand that he, James Potter, couldn't wait for later? He had to know everything right away or go insane. He had grown up his whole life with 'I'll tell you later' and it was really starting to annoy him.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
The meeting was over. James let out a huge sigh and went to find Remus. It was later and he needed to know what was happening with Amy.  
  
"I'll see you tonight then?" said a voice from the hall.  
  
"Of course, Amy, I'll be around to pick you up at 8."  
  
"Don't be late Remus."  
  
Remus laughed.  
  
James peaked his head around the corner and into the hall where Amy and Remus were standing. Remus lowered his head to Amy's and gently kissed her on the lips. That was all James needed to see to realize what was going on. They were dating.  
  
Lily told him the whole story when he asked her about it later on that evening. James ran his hand through his hair and laughed. "To tell you the truth, I thought they were over. I mean, no offense to Amy, but she was really mean to him," said James.  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. "What if I was to tell you right now that I was a muggle under cover, learning magic to help the muggle society?"  
  
James laughed.  
  
Lily's face was serious.  
  
"You're not really are you?" he asked.  
  
Lily rolled her eyes again. "I was giving you a scenario, James."  
  
James still looked unsure. "James, I was really kidding."  
  
"So how long do you think they are going to be together this time?" asked James putting his arm around Lily's shoulder as they say relaxed on the living room couch.  
  
"Forever," said Lily dreamily. "It is so cute."  
  
James snorted. "Was everyone saying things like that when we were going out?"  
  
Lily put her hand on her hip. "What is so wrong with relationships being cute?"  
  
James laughed. "Nothing, nothing."  
  
Lily laughed. "Well I happen to think that it is very cute."  
  
James kissed her.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Remus stood frozen outside of Amy's door. He hadn't done this in what felt like forever. He knew he shouldn't be nervous, Amy loved him. So, Remus lifted his hand and knocked on the door.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Amy heard a knock at the door and raced down the hallway trying not to trip on her heels. She paused briefly in front of the mirror in the foyer to touch up her hair before reaching out to open the door. It had been a long time since she had gone out with Remus, all she could remember was that those were the best nights of her life.  
  
"Hey Remus," Amy said with a nervous smile on her face.  
  
Remus smiled and said his hellos before offering his arm to her. Amy lived close to the village of Hogsmead so it was their plan to walk there for dinner and shopping. It wasn't a long walk, but it was long enough to make their nervousness vanish away.  
  
They had both missed being together. They were half way through dinner when Amy found herself wondering how she was able to carry on without him for almost a year. She shrugged the thought away as dessert arrived at the table.  
  
The waiter had brought Amy a thin slice of cherry pie and Remus a dish of ice cream. They both laughed. "Have we done this before?" Amy said, controlling her laughter.  
  
Remus smiled. "It is just like our first date."  
  
They both remembered that night clearly, and even clearer now that they had practically just relived it. Their first date was in a different café, but the setting was almost the same. Amy began to laugh again.  
  
"It is funny how things work out sometimes," she laughed.  
  
"The second time is always better," Remus said.  
  
"I agree, although sometimes I wish that we hadn't needed the second time," Amy sighed.  
  
Remus looked puzzled. "Why is that?"  
  
"I mean, I am glad that we are together again, but I wish that we never had to break up in the first place."  
  
"Well, that does make the second time around easier because we don't have to start fresh, but I know what you mean."  
  
Amy then asked a question that she had been thinking about for the past few nights. "Where would we have been right now if we hadn't broken up?"  
  
Remus took a bite of his ice cream so he could think about the question. He had in fact wondered the same thing many times before. Where would they be? He didn't know how to answer this question. He didn't want to sound like he was taking their relationship to fast, but he didn't want to sound like he was taking it to slowly either.  
  
Remus took in a deep breath. "Well, we would have just celebrated our 1 year anniversary a few months ago, so I guess we might be meeting each other's parents or something." There. That was the best he could do.  
  
Amy smiled. "I guess you are right."  
  
Remus sighed again. "Amy, you were the first girl that I had really ever given my heart away to."  
  
Amy smiled and blushed again. "Same here, I was always afraid of jumping into something and not being able to pull out of it."  
  
Remus nodded. "Yeah, same with me, that is why I didn't wait too long to tell you...well... about my abnormality, but that didn't exactly turn out to well."  
  
Amy's smile disappeared. Remus could have smacked himself. Why did he bring that up? He knew she hated talking about the night she found out he was a werewolf. Why the hell did he bring it up? "Amy, I'm sorry."  
  
"No, Remus, we have to talk about it sooner or later. I don't know if this is the time or place to do it though."  
  
Remus sighed. He would just have to make up for it, and he knew how.  
  
The stars were always bright this time of year in the wizarding world and Amy's favorite thing in the world was to look for pictures in the stars. Remus paid the tab and led Amy out of the café and towards the little hill at the edge of the village.  
  
"Where are we going Remus?" Amy asked as he pulled her along.  
  
"To look at the pictures painted in the stars." !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
A/N- Slightly longer than some of my other chapters, actually, I think it is my longest one! Happiness is the key to everything! Well anyway, I don't have anything to say except I am going away for the long weekend, so no posts until Tuesday, possibly Monday but probably not since I don't want to spend my whole birthday on the computer. I shall try to write a chapter or two during the long car ride so I can just type and post them at my leisure. Well, that is all I have to say! 


	23. Picture

Lily found herself biting her nails, something that she hadn't done in years, as she sat on her parent's living room sofa with James. Her mother was out of the room preparing tea and her father was sitting on the sofa across from them with his head in his hands after a feeble attempt to get his wife to accept the fact that she was going to be a grandmother.  
  
Lily thought the whole thing was pointless, although she did miss speaking with her mother like she used to. She remembered when she had received her Hogwarts letter. Her mother reacted in almost the same way: she screamed, cried, and shut herself off from the world.  
  
Mr. Evans had always been the one to pull them together in the end. Without him, Lily and her mother would probably always be in a fight. He had been accused of favoring Lily for a long time by his wife and oldest daughter Petunia. They were right though, he had always favored Lily. She was his little girl. She took on all of his characteristics as well as physical appearance, save for her hair which she inherited from her mother.  
  
Petunia never had anything in common with him. She loved fashion and hated sports of all sorts, she had no toleration for differences which is why she had always hated Lily. Lily was different. She was exceptionally smart, pretty, caring, athletic, and she was, in spite of everything her sister said, special.  
  
Petunia entered the room and as soon as she saw who was seated there she turned to leave. She was not going to spend her afternoon trying to get her sister on speaking terms with her mother. After all, she did like getting more attention than Lily, and it seemed that the only time that she really bonded with her mother was when Lily wasn't speaking with her.  
  
"Poppy, come back in here, we could use your assistance," called her father.  
  
Petunia frowned. She hated her nickname that her father always called her by. She had half a mind to just run through the door and get on with her life, but then she heard Lily protesting, saying that she'd rather not have Petunia sit in on this conversation. Against her better judgment, Petunia forced a smile and went to join her sister, brother in law, and father.  
  
James groaned. Why did Petunia have to be here? He never really got properly acquainted with her, but after listening to all of the stories that Lily told him about her, he wasn't sure he wanted to meet her. She sounded horrid and cruel, the total opposite of Lily. He heard Mrs. Evans come through the door again. He heard the clatter as the tea tray hit the table and he opened his eyes.  
  
"Petunia, so nice of you to join us," she smiled.  
  
Petunia smiled back at her, but James could tell that both smiles were fake. Lily straightened up and pulled her head out of her hands, eyes glaring at Petunia with fury. One of her hands moved back toward her pockets. James grabbed her hands and she smiled weakly at him. He couldn't let her do something that she would regret later. They needed to put this whole mess right and magic wasn't exactly the best answer to their problem, at least not yet.  
  
An hour later the tea cups were empty. They had made some progress, not very much, but some. Lily had started a one sided conversation with her mother who was refusing to look at her. Petunia was inspecting her nails and smiling as she watched Lily's face turning red and the rage build up in her eyes.  
  
"...why can't you see that this is right mother?" asked Lily.  
  
James sighed. It was the 7th time that she had said this. He had tried to help by putting in his good word, but Lily hadn't let him. It was probably for the best, he was never good at these types of things.  
  
Mr. Evans sighed and figured it was his time to speak up. "Katherine, I really think you are acting childish about all of this."  
  
Mrs. Evans gave him a glare. Mr. Evans smiled to himself, he had gotten somewhere. "What do you see wrong with this situation, Katherine?"  
  
Again, Mrs. Evans just glared at him. "Ahh...see? You are obviously just holding a stupid jealousy grudge, you can't find anything wrong with it, admit it, you can't find anything wrong."  
  
The smile faded from Petunia's face as she watched her mother start to spill silent tears. "I am sure that mother has her reasons for being upset. We shouldn't have to press them out of her."  
  
"What am I supposed to do then? Just let her be mad at me forever?" Lily screamed throwing her hands up in the air.  
  
Mrs. Evans didn't show any response. James was getting mad. "Why can't you just be happy for us?" James asked.  
  
Lily shot him a look in an attempt to shut him up. "No Lily, I'm not going to give up," said James shocking everyone in the room, "I want my little Rose to have a real family. She has my parents so far as loving grandparents along with Lily's father. She has Sirius, Remus, Peter, Gloria, Amy, and Teresa as aunts and uncles. If you two would like to be part of this picture, you are welcome. If not, Rose can get along without you," James finished.  
  
Lily felt a surge of pride in James. His words had depth and meaning. She tightened her grip on his hand and leaned her head on his shoulder.  
  
Mrs. Evans was now crying freely as images of a laughing red head child filled her head. She loved having children running around the house laughing and smiling. She felt a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. She wanted a grandchild, she had to admit. "I want to be part of the picture."  
  
Lily started to cry and James felt a wave of relief pass over him. Mr. Evans reached out for his wife's hand. "What if she turns out to be one of...one of them?" Petunia snapped trying to change her mother's mind.  
  
"I changed my mind," James said, "you, Petunia dear, can't be in the picture," he snapped.  
  
Lily hit him playfully. "James!" she tried to hide her laugh, but failed miserably.  
  
Petunia stood up. "I don't want to be in the picture," she said heading toward the French doors. She stopped before opening them and added, "I don't want you," she said pointing at Lily and James, "to ruin my picture!"  
  
"Come now Poppy!" her father started before Lily cut in.  
  
"You'll never have a picture!" Lily shouted as she stood up drawing her wand out of her pocket.  
  
"Lily!" James screamed pulling out his own wand. "Accio wand!" her wand flew into James' open hand.  
  
Mr. and Mrs. Evans were on their feet now looking terrified. The French doors slammed shut as Petunia left the room. James sighed a ruffled his hair.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"So, how did it go?" asked Sirius when Lily and James came home later that evening.  
  
James looked over at Lily who had (carefully) flopped down on to the couch and he sighed. "Well her mother is on our side now, but her sister isn't."  
  
"I don't care about Petunia anymore, Rose is better off without her," Lily said firmly.  
  
Sirius sat on the couch by Lily's feet. "You are right, Red, Rose doesn't need a snobby aunt."  
  
James nodded in agreement and decided to change the subject. "So, Sirius, any word from your brother?"  
  
Sirius scowled. "Let's not go there tonight, Prongs."  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Lily glanced at the clock on her bedside table. She sighed, it was 1:10 am. She hated not being able to fall asleep, but it was worse when she was the only one up as she was now. The house was silent except for the occasional snore from Sirius' room.  
  
She looked over at James and nudged him awake. "Lily, I was sleeping," he mumbled. "What is it?"  
  
Lily sighed. "I can't sleep."  
  
James sighed. This wasn't the first time this had happened. He wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her cheek. "I'll stay up with you," he whispered in her ear.  
  
Lily smiled lovingly at him. "I love you."  
  
James smiled back at her. "I love you too."  
  
Lily rolled onto her side and nuzzled into James who still had his arms around her. James waited until her breathing became slow and deep before he closed his eyes to drift off to sleep.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!  
  
It was the eve of Amy's trial and Amy spent the whole day out with Lily, Gloria, and Teresa. She stopped by St. Mungo's early in the evening to visit her sister Rain, and then invited Remus over after dinner.  
  
Remus was nervous and scared about the next day and what it might bring, but he was determined not to let Amy know. He needed to make her feel happy and cared for. He needed to occupy her mind and chase away all of her fears.  
  
But, nothing can truly fight off all of one's fears.  
  
Instead of being helpful, Remus ended up making Amy even more nervous. She couldn't help it. What if she was charged guilty? Amy had no idea what her sentence was going to be, but it wouldn't be light.  
  
Remus could sense Amy's nervousness. It lingered in the air and made him extremely uncomfortable. They were sitting together on the couch experiencing the meaning of the phrase 'silent as the grave.'  
  
It was not a fun thing to experience.  
  
Remus sighed and looked over at Amy. Her eyes were glazed over and he could tell that her mind was else where. He pulled his hand to her head and began to play with her soft wavy brown hair.  
  
Amy's head twitched as she came back from her thoughts. She gave Remus a small smile as she found herself wishing that tomorrow would never come.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Kate paced around the empty hall of her master's house. She had fulfilled her mission, but she had failed to leave her evidence to make Amy guilty. Her master would not be happy with her, she was sure of that. There is always the slim chance that he would be alright with it, after all, it was her first mission. She would just do better next time.  
  
Kate grabbed the handle of the door to the dinner hall with confidence and pulled it open. She drew her cloak tighter around herself as she walked towards her master's chair.  
  
It was an awful shame that he wasn't forgiving.  
  
A strange green light was seen reflecting off of the cars parked in the small neighborhood. Many neighbors came out of their houses looking for someone or something to blame for the strange occurrence.  
  
None were concerned that Kate was now lying on the floor with her eyes shut and hair strewn about her head, no longer able to breath.  
  
All they wanted was someone or something to blame.  
  
A/N- Yeah...so that was chapter 23, a little bit of everything. 


	24. Trial

Lily awoke with a weight in her stomach. It was beyond her how she was able to get to sleep the previous night. Amy's trial was that afternoon. Although Amy had told everyone not to come, Lily felt it was her duty to be present for her friend. Any would do the same for her friends.  
  
James rolled over, grabbing the covers from Lily, as he mumbled something about not being able to catch the snitch. Lily slowly sat up while rolling her eyes at him. The Chudley Cannons were holding tryouts for a new seeker later that week. James would give anything to be apart of the ream, even throw away his hard-earned captainship of England's prized Quidditch team.  
  
Lily dragged herself out of bed and left James in what was obviously a nightmare for him as he now began to mutter things like 'One more chance...I can do better...', 'It wasn't fair...', 'or 'Damn snitch!' She pulled on her slippers and began to head downstairs to start breakfast.  
  
She pulled the fridge open and stood in front of it, letting her mind wander and think about the trial. A car alarm from down the street went off and brought Lily back to her senses. She closed the fridge and walked back upstairs to get dressed finding that she didn't' have an appetite at the moment.  
  
James heard the shower running and looked over at Lily's empty side of the bed. He hoped that she had made breakfast and began to drag his feet down the stairs. The usual breakfast aroma did not meet his nose. Then James remembered that it was the day of Amy's trial. He sighed, ruffled his hair, and trudged over to the fridge.  
  
There was a clatter from the kitchen below that scared a sleeping Sirius from his sleep. He sat straight up in bed with all of his senses alert. Since his animagus form was a dog, Sirius figured that was the reason for his sharpened senses and quick movements.  
  
He heard the shower stop in the room next door and Lily's faint humming. Well, that explained the crash at least. It was now obvious that James was doing the cooking this morning. A crash sounded again from the kitchen. Sirius sighed and pulled himself out of bed figuring James would need some help.  
  
After some struggling, a few burnt pieces of toast, and many screams from Lily, breakfast was ready. The three of them ate in silence listening to the clinking of forks and knives. When Lily was done eating (a.k.a. rolling the food around on her plate) she pushed her plate away from herself and flicked her wand at the dirty dishes and pans that were gathered by the sink. They began to clean themselves. It was a wonder how she could have gotten along without magic.  
  
James pulled his chair out and went upstairs to shower. He was half way up the stairs when he heard Sirius say something which was closely followed by Lily's laughter. James paused as a wave of guilt passed over him. He should have been more cheery and normal that morning. He should have been able to make Lily laugh. James sighed and continued up the stairs, not looking forward to the rest of the day.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Amy drew her cloak tighter around her wishing that she had thought to wear a sweatshirt underneath. She had known that the trial was to be held in the dungeon, but she obviously wasn't thinking about that. Amy looked out into the stands and saw all of her friends, who were there against her will, smiling supportively at her except fro Remus who looked slightly nervous. In the end, Amy knew she would thank them for coming.  
  
She also knew that there was no way that she could be charged as guilty. The Wizengamot was on her side, although Amy strongly suspected that it was because Dumbledore was their head counselor. Amy didn't care, as long as she won the case and got to go back to her normal life without the press sleeping on her doorstep.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
It was now May, two months after the trial, and Amy had found that she rarely went anywhere without two things: Remus and a smile. Her life had gone back to normal and the press was starting to get sick of having doors slammed in their faces and having to go to St. Mungo's to have their faces put back into proportion thanks to Amy's wonderful hexes. She couldn't complain, life was good again.  
  
It was a rainy afternoon on May 17th, the day before Lily's 19th birthday, and Amy, Gloria, and Teresa were trying to think of what to do for Lily's birthday. It had to be special and it had to be unforgettable. Her 18th birthday party was going to be extremely hard to top. The whole school was talking about it for weeks after it happened. Amy had half a mind to put a copy right on the party elements so they wouldn't be used again.  
  
They had made little progress with the party plans except they knew it was going to be at the Potter house, it had begin after 5 pm, everyone was invited, and there was going to be lots of food. It wasn't too much, but it was a start. James was to be Lily's escort to the party and agreed to keep her out of the house from the hours of 12-5. 5 hours to get everything set up and to get everyone over to the house. They would be able to manage.  
  
"Ah! I have the perfect idea!" screamed Gloria and she motioned for the rest of the girls to move in closer to her.  
  
"Gloria, I must say, that is the best idea you have had in your whole life!" screamed Teresa.  
  
Amy immediately began a list of party supplies, Teresa started the guest list, and Gloria started the list of food. It was going to be the perfect party. 


	25. Lily's Birthday

A/N- This is probably going to be a long chapter, but no chapter can ever be long enough, am I right? Well, I hope this makes up for the all of the short chapters!  
  
It was 10 am on a Sunday morning and James was just waking up. He had had a late night, but it was worth it. It had been his first Quidditch practice with the Chudley Cannons, the moment he had never dreamed of living. James had turned up for tryouts, not expecting to ever make it past the first cut.  
  
But, after seeing his 'competition's' performances, he couldn't help but smile. He knew right then that he was going to make it. He never really bragged about his flying abilities and it was only after the tryouts that he had realized just how good he was. Everyone was excited for him, but none more excited for him then Lily. She had thrown him a party and everything.  
  
That brought James to his current position. He was lying in bed debating how he should wake Lily up that morning. It was her birthday and everything had to be just right. 'Pillow...kiss...kick...no not a kick...ummm...alarm clock...no, too boring...I'll go with the pillow...wait, I did that on Christmas...kiss...that is definitely the way to go...'  
  
James had his mind made up and he reached over to kiss his sleeping angel. He paused for a moment as he hovered over her taking in her breathtaking beauty. Her red hair glistened in the sun light that was pouring in the window. Lily smiled softly in her sleep and James couldn't help but smile back. He leaned down and gently kissed her on the lips.  
  
Lily's eyes fluttered open and she found herself kissing James. He pulled away and she looked into his hazel eyes and laughed at the state of his hair. She leaned her head forward, wanting another kiss and James was only to willing to oblige.  
  
James broke away for a moment and moved his head over to her ear. "Happy Birthday Lily Flower," he whispered.  
  
Lily found herself blushing as James kissed her on the nose. She curled up close to him and was about to close her eyes to go back to sleep when James said, "It is 10:15, we have to make our lunch reservations at Hogsmead at noon."  
  
Lily's eyes flew open and she waddled out of bed and over to the bathroom. James smiled to himself. In just two months time he was going to be a father. He looked at his summer Quidditch training schedule and his happiness faltered. He was going to be awfully busy that month and the month after. James got out of bed and went downstairs to start breakfast and brushed the thought out of his head.  
  
Sirius was sitting at the kitchen table reading the Daily Prophet. He looked up as he heard James walking over to him. "Slept in a bit, did we?" he teased.  
  
James smiled and saw that Sirius had already made breakfast. It was a shame that he was moving out in two weeks to his new small house in Surry. James was going to miss living with his best friend. James sat down at the table next to Sirius. "Any news in the prophet?" he asked rubbing his eyes.  
  
Sirius shook his head. "No, although, I do think that they have caught on about the Order seeing as no one has been killed since the incident with Amy."  
  
"Don't forget about Caradoc Dearborn, Dumbledore recons he was killed too. He hasn't been in contact for a few weeks," James said.  
  
Sirius shrugged and continued to read the prophet. James walked over to the counter to where the food was and began to fix up a plate for himself and a plate for Lily. Just in time too, Lily came down the stairs a few short minutes later. "There's the birthday girl!" said Sirius teasingly.  
  
Lily smiled and sat down in front of her filled plate. The three of them sat there and ate laughing at old Hogwarts memories.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!  
  
It was 12:30 when Gloria and Amy arrived over at the Potter's house. Everyone was gone, even Sirius. They magically began to fill up balloons and place them at random places on the first floor along with the streamers and 'Happy Birthday' signs. Amy checked the clock that was hanging in the hall way. It was almost one. She went to find Gloria who was seated in the study looking through photo albums as magically making copies of pictures that she liked and would look good on the walls.  
  
"Where is Teresa? She should be here by now," Amy said.  
  
"Didn't we tell you? While you were gone last night on your date with Remus we decided it would be a good idea to merge Lily's birthday party with a baby shower since we haven't thrown one yet," said Gloria looking up from the photo album.  
  
Amy smiled. "That is a good idea. I need to turn some of the other balloons pink," she said thoughtfully.  
  
Gloria waved her hand in the air. "Don't bother, that is where Teresa is, shopping for baby shower banners and what not."  
  
Amy shrugged and left the room to finish decorating. She found Teresa in the living room, which was the only room that hadn't been decorated yet, opening up packages of pink balloons and pink streamers. Teresa noticed Amy watching her. "Well, don't just stand there, we need this room to be pink-i- fied!" she laughed.  
  
Amy laughed along with her and began to magically fill the balloons and magically tie ribbons onto them, pink ribbons, of course. "We have to keep Lily out of this room until the end of the night. She will be expecting a birthday party of some sort, but never a baby shower," said Teresa.  
  
Amy nodded and waved her wand at the pile of streamers that was lying on the floor. She shot across the room and stuck to the walls and ceiling. Teresa put up the 'Congratulations' and 'It's a Girl!' signs. They sat back to admire their handy work. "It is still missing something," Teresa declared.  
  
"And I know exactly what it is," said Amy smiling.  
  
She waved her wand and soft pink rose petals began to fall from the ceiling. Teresa clapped her hands and jumped up and down. "Perfect Amy, just perfect!"  
  
Gloria stood in the hallway magically sticking pictures to the walls, starting with Lily's baby pictures. At the end of the hall were Lily's more recent pictures from her Christmas party and Amy's birthday party which had been in April. She stood back to inspect her handy work. It was beautiful; pictures of Lily, James, and all of their friends were smiling and waving at her. Gloria especially liked the pictures from their wedding which she had backed with silver paper and ribbons.  
  
Amy and Teresa wandered into the kitchen to help Gloria with the cake. Yes, they could have saved a whole bunch of time by going to the store and buying a cake, but where is the fun in that? Besides, the cake had to be perfect and none of the cakes that they had seen came close to perfect.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
It was 3:30 according to James' watch. He still had and hour and a half to kill before returning home. He looked at Lily who was trying on a dress robe at Madam Malcome's Robes for All Occasions, and smiled. It was a sea green color and it complimented her eyes and hair perfectly. The neckline dipped in a v-shape and was out lined with beads. "Try it on, Lils, it will look gorgeous on you," said James smiling.  
  
Lily sighed, "There is no way that this will fit me now, James. Maybe after Rose is born."  
  
James hated to see Lily look disappointed. "Aw, come on, buy it and magically alter it at home. Then, after Rose is born alter it back," he suggested.  
  
Lily laughed and looked over at James. "Come on Lily," he whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist, "you know you want to buy it. It'll give us an excuse to go out dancing sometime."  
  
Lily's eyes lit up. "Alright, I'll buy it."  
  
James smiled. Lily loved dancing as James found out as he began dating her in their 7th year. He never liked dancing before, but dancing with Lily was different. She was beautiful when she danced, her dresses always clung to her curves perfectly and her eyes would always light up in joy. James supposed this was the reason he enjoyed it so much, because Lily enjoyed it.  
  
They exited the shop hand in hand with James holding onto the dress in the bag. "So, where to next birthday girl?" he asked nudging her side.  
  
Lily smiled and leaned into him. She looked over at the hill where the Shrieking Shack stood. "Did you ever stop the rose petals from falling in the Shrieking Shack?" she asked.  
  
James smiled. "I don't think so. Maybe we should go and check on that."  
  
Lily laughed. "There are so many in there that we could probably go swimming in them."  
  
James laughed. "We'd probably drown!"  
  
Lily started to laugh and continued to laugh all the way to the shack. James pulled open the door and they were showered with rose petals and their noses were filled with their bright smell. Lily only laughed harder and tears began to roll down her face as her face turned the color of her hair. James joined in with her laughing. "Yeah...we'd definitely drown. Come one, let's head somewhere else."  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
It was 4:30 and everyone was at the Potter house, everyone being Amy, Teresa, Gloria, Remus, Sirius, Mr. and Mrs. Evans, Mr. and Mrs. Potter (Gloria figured that James' and Lily's parents would like to be there for the baby shower), and Peter. It wasn't too many people, but it didn't matter, Teresa, Amy, and Gloria only invited the people who meant the most to Lily and James. The food had been set up in the kitchen, buffet style. Now all that was left was to have everyone hide and wait for Lily and James to come home.  
  
At quarter to five, Amy announced that everyone should find a hiding place on the first floor, excluding the living room, which no one was aloud to enter until later.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"James, this has been the best birthday of my life!" Lily said as she and James arrived on their front porch.  
  
James looked at his watch. He still had ten minutes before they were due inside. He laughed. "Glad you had fun," he said grinning.  
  
He pulled her onto the porch swing and sat down next to her. Lily smiled as James kissed her. "I wish everyday was my birthday."  
  
James laughed, "I bet you do."  
  
Lily laughed again as James began to play with her hair which she had left down. "What? Your hair is always so soft and pretty smelling."  
  
"And your hair is always messy and smells like grass," she teased.  
  
"I am hurt Lily," James said turning his back to her.  
  
"Oh, James, you know I wouldn't have it any other way!" Lily said as she caressed his shoulders.  
  
James turned his head and Lily playfully hit him when she saw that he was grinning. She kissed him and felt his arms snake around her waist as her hands came up to play with his hair. James broke away for a slight second and stole anther look at his watch as he leaned down to pick up her dress bag. It was now five till five. "I can't wait to see you in your dress," he said looking at it.  
  
Lily laughed. "You are just going to have to wait."  
  
James gave a playful groan. "You know I can't wait for anything."  
  
"Some things are worth waiting for, and I know you have experience with that," she laughed.  
  
"Yeah, I do, like dating you. Remember how I never asked you out once from the end of 6th year until Christmas of our 7th year?"  
  
Lily nodded. "Well that was definitely worth waiting for," he said kissing her neck.  
  
"James, stop it," Lily said. "We should be heading inside."  
  
James looked at his watch. Five on the dot. "Alright, Lily, let's go." He opened up the door for her and they both went inside of the house hand in hand.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Amy heard Lily coming down the hall complaining. "Come on James, turn on the light! I can't see anything!" Amy smiled as she sat under the bench in the foyer. Lily hated being in the dark. Lily walked by the bench and Amy couldn't resist. She reached out and lightly grabbed Lily's leg.  
  
Lily screamed. "James, something touched me!"  
  
At that moment the lights went on and everyone jumped out of their hiding places. Lily screamed again. "Amy Stephens, you are...you are..."  
  
Exactly what she was Amy never found out because Lily was over come by a fit of laughter. She looked around the hall and noticed pictures of herself posted along the walls. She greeted her guests who all wished her a happy birthday.  
  
James smiled when he saw his parents. They weren't sure if they were going to be able to make it or not as his father was a very active Auror at the moment. He gave his parents a hug and continues to also greet his guests.  
  
"How long have you all been planning this?" asked Lily turning to her best friends.  
  
"Not too long actually," Gloria smiled.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Lily spent the next hour reminiscing with her friends and family over dinner. At the end of the hour Amy stood up and asked everyone to follow her to the living room doors. "Lily, go inside," she ordered.  
  
Part of Lily was afraid to look. "What is going to jump out at me?" she asked.  
  
Teresa smiled. "Lily, why on earth would anything jump out at you?"  
  
Lily smiled weakly, still not sure what to expect. She pulled open the door. She screamed again. "I have gone...I have gone...pink-blind!" Everything in the room was pink.  
  
Lily walked into the room with James, who didn't know about the baby shower part of the party. He was completely shocked. He too at first had thought he had gone er...pink-blind...as Lily had said. James found himself laughing.  
  
Lily was crying now. She had the best friends in the whole world. They knew exactly what to do and exactly how to do it. She gasped in shock as a rose petal brushed up against the tip of her nose. She looked up at the ceiling and smiled when she saw the pink rose petals falling down.  
  
Everything was perfect.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
A/N- Yeah...that was a long chapter! I didn't really want to split it up so I made it one huge thing.  
  
Well I am officially done with school! Yay I graduatid from ate grayd! I am so smrt! Lol! Well more later!  
  
Disclaimer- (I kind of forgot about this) I don't own anything that J.K. Rowling does. 


	26. For the better

The party was indeed the best party Lily had ever had in her whole life and it was a shame that it had to come to an end. Fun times feel like they last for only a few seconds while the miserable times feel like they last an eternity. It was an awful shame to Lily.  
  
Everyone had left except for Mr. and Mrs. Potter who were sitting across the kitchen table from Lily and James playing a long awaited game of catch up. James' parents were working under cover for the Ministry of Magic to try to find out more about the murders. They were always busy and never had time to just sit around with their son and daughter in law and chat. Mr. and Mrs. Potter had always kept in contact by means of owl post, but it is always better to talk to people in person.  
  
"...really mom, dad, you don't have to..."  
  
"Oh, but James, your mother and I have to spend some time with our little granddaughter. Besides, we aren't getting anywhere near finding out who is behind all of these murders so I don't think that the Ministry would mind if we took a week or so off, they do have back ups if they need them," said Mr. Potter.  
  
"Thank you so much Mr. and Mrs. Potter, I dare say I will need the help," Lily said graciously.  
  
"Please Lily, call us mom and dad, you are part of the family now," Mrs. Potter smiled.  
  
Lily smiled to herself. "Thanks mom and dad."  
  
James smiled. His parents had only met Lily a few times before they had gotten married, but they accepted her as part of the family the first time that she ever met them. James heard his parents laugh and realized that he had been zoning out.  
  
"Despite all of the horror stories you might hear about raising children, it isn't really that bad," laughed James' mom.  
  
James laughed. "Yeah, and that is coming from the person who had to raise me."  
  
"Nonsense James, you were the sweetest child in the world!" said his mother.  
  
"Honestly, I think that the scariest day in parenthood is the day that your child is born," his father started, "You are so worried that something is going to go wrong, and the fact that your life, as you know it, will never be the same again."  
  
Lily was confused. She had always thought that the day that your child was born was supposed to be the happiest day of your entire life. She had never known anyone to say that it was the scariest day of their lives. But then again, he did have a point; their lives will never be the same again.  
  
"Lily dear what is wrong?" asked Mrs. Potter looking concerned.  
  
Lily forced a smile, "It's just that I have never thought about having a child as being scary."  
  
"Neither have I," James chimed in.  
  
"Well don't let my opinion change that. It is probably a good thing that you don't think of it as being scary. It means that you are fully ready to have a child," said Mrs. Potter.  
  
Lily forced another smile. She didn't like this conversation at all. Just when she thought she was ready to have a child, someone says something to scare her. 'Perfect,' she thought, 'Just perfect.' It was going to be another long night.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"Lily, you have nothing to be afraid of," James stated for the millionth time.  
  
"I know, I know, I know, but I just can't help it! What if I am a bad mother?" Lily cried.  
  
James rolled his eyes. Why did his parents have to stay after the party? He wouldn't be in this position if they hadn't. "Lily, there is no possible way for you, of all people, to be a bad mother."  
  
"Aren't you at least a little bit scared of what could happen?" she asked as she cuddled closer to James.  
  
"You can't keep living in the future and always ask 'what if', you need to live your life day by day," James said.  
  
Silence.  
  
"Once upon a day in July, a little girl named Rose was born. She had two loving parents and many crazy aunts and uncles. She was the happiest little girl in the world. Rose was pampered by her parents who waited on her hand and foot and was always showered with presents from her grandparents. She grew up to be a fantastic witch and a superb Quidditch player, just like her old man. She was made prefect, head girl, and Quidditch captain. Rose was even fortunate enough to come across the Marauder's Map which had been shut up in Filch's office and sneak around school after hours with her best friends," James said softly.  
  
He looked over at Lily who was crying. "See? Having a child is just the next great adventure in life," James said.  
  
Lily laughed and nodded. "Yes, I guess that you are right."  
  
"Are you still scared?"  
  
"No, I guess I was just afraid that I was going to end up being like my mom. She was never there for me when I was little. She was too busy at her job as a fashion designer in London. We moved into a big house that I kept getting lost in and she always hired new butlers and maids every week, none of them stuck around for too long. My father raised me basically alone. I never really saw my mother and when I did she was always busy or telling me not to touch anything," Lily sighed.  
  
"There is no way that you can end up like your mother, Lily. You aren't at all like that. I know that you would never put a job or anything in front of your family, especially your child. We are going to raise Rose right. She is going to have two parents," James broke off for a second and sighed. "I have to admit, I am afraid that I am going to be a bit like your mother with Quidditch practices and matches. But, unlike her, I am willing to stop with it if it interferes with my family."  
  
Lily smiled. "I can't believe that we only have two more months."  
  
James smiled back at her. "Yeah, then our lives get turned upside down, for the better."  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Matt Halker found himself sitting on his couch late that night, looking at pictures of his children. He still couldn't believe that they were gone. They were his world. They were his sunshine on the rainy days. They were ultimately what kept him living.  
  
He had it all planned out now and the more he thought about it, the more he was okay with his decision. Matt decided a long time ago that it was impossible to live without them. He drew in a long deep breath and grabbed his wand from the coffee table and headed upstairs.  
  
"Hey sweetie, I was just getting ready for bed," his wife Brittany called from their bedroom.  
  
He walked into his bedroom with his wand behind his back. Brittany came into view wearing her favorite silk pajamas. Caitlin used to love those pajamas. On the nights that Brittany wore them Caitlin used to curl up in the bed with them, loving the way the silk felt on her skin. Mark always said that his mother looked like an angel in them and he would always ask her to wear them on days when he was sick or sad saying that her beauty made him feel better.  
  
It was time. Matt couldn't live another minute with out his children. He couldn't live without hearing them laugh or seeing them smile. He raised his wand and turned it on Brittany.  
  
"Matt, what is the matter?" she asked, smile fading from her face.  
  
"Too long have I been going through the motions of life, not enjoying a single minute. It is time for it to end." Matt said as he advanced on his wife.  
  
"Matt? This isn't like you," Brittany said as she back up against her dresser looking completely terrified. This wasn't the man that she knew and loved for so long.  
  
"No one will ever know what happened. No one will ever need to know what happened. As long as I am free from this misery."  
  
And without wasting a second he killed his wife. He turned his wand onto himself. "Goodbye," he whispered.  
  
All went black and the air left his lungs. No one was stirring in the Halker house that night, and no one would ever come to live there again. Even to this day people say that it is haunted by Matt's ghost. They say he was never put out of his misery and was somehow left behind to live forever as an angry spirit seeking his family that he lost and never found.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Sirius gave James a hug outside of his new house in Surry. "Thanks for helping me move in," said Sirius looking at the ground.  
  
"No problem," said James.  
  
There was an awkward silence. James ruffled his hair. "Well your neighbors don't sound so pleasant, so I brought you a little something to liven up their day if they give you hell," laughed James as he handed his friend a wrapped box.  
  
Sirius opened it and laughed. "Dungbombs and Fireworks...the classics."  
  
"Well I hope you never need to use them," stated James.  
  
"I don't! I'll probably use them up by next week, you know how I am with meeting new people."  
  
"Invite me over when you use them. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces," James laughed.  
  
"I am having a house warming party in a week or so, I'll let you know when."  
  
James nodded. "Well I'd better be getting back home. Lily is going to get worried, especially since the doctor's over at Mungo's said that she will probably have the baby early considering how healthy it is already."  
  
"Yeah, I'll see you around."  
  
James nodded again before giving Sirius another big hug. It was like the end of an era and James found himself wishing that he was back at Hogwarts. He knew that the day would come when the Marauders would have to be split up and go their separate ways, but he wasn't ready for it. He sighed and apparated back home.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Lily heard James come home and walked as fast as she could into the living room to greet him. He was, as she suspected, sitting on the couch with his head in his hands like he usually did when he was upset. She sat down next to him and ran her arm reassuringly up and down his back. "So, how did it go?" she asked after a moment of silence.  
  
James drew in a breath. "Not too bad actually considering that all we had to do by hand was get his furniture and stuff into the house. After that, we just used magic to place everything,"  
  
"How are the neighbors?"  
  
James chuckled. "He hasn't met them yet, but he has a feeling that he isn't going to like them."  
  
"When does he ever like his neighbors?"  
  
"He doesn't like anyone's neighbors. You saw how he got along with the Krullers next door."  
  
"Well it is humanly impossible to get along with them," Lily laughed, "You can always see- oh what is her names?"  
  
"Helen."  
  
"Yes, Helen, you could always see Helen peering through her kitchen window and into our living room."  
  
"And Gary, her husband, would always water the grass at five in the morning, even if it was raining," chortled James.  
  
"So how is his house anyway?" Lily asked.  
  
"Well, it is a bit small, but he'll find a way to expand the inside sooner or later, kind of like what we did to our house," said James.  
  
Lily nodded. "There is a great advantage to having 'magical powers' and such."  
  
"In the back yard there is a small in ground pool that needs to be cleaned out, but that can also be done magically. There are a few things inside of the house that need to be fixed, like the stairs that are always creaking and the back door doesn't close properly," James continued.  
  
"Sounds nice," said Lily.  
  
"He is having a house warming party soon, he said that he'd owl us about that one," said James.  
  
Lily nodded again, not sure what to say. "Oh, yes, I ordered that crib that you wanted and it should be here tomorrow. Think of it as a late birthday present," laughed James.  
  
"So we can start to fix up the nursery?" asked Lily.  
  
James sighed. "Yeah, now that Sirius is out of there, it shouldn't be too hard. All we need to do is drag up the baby shower gifts from the study and wait for the crib to get here, and then we can start."  
  
Lily smiled. "We still need to decide on carpet and wall colors and such."  
  
James groaned. He had forgotten about that. "Well we could to that magically, couldn't we?" he asked.  
  
"Of course we can! You know me, I have to see how things look before I can actually decide on something. It would take forever if we didn't do it magically."  
  
James took Lily upstairs and they headed into the nursery. "I am seeing pink on the walls," he commented.  
  
Lily laughed. "Well yeah, that was an obvious one!"  
  
"For the ceiling, I am thinking Hogwarts style, except for thunderstorms," said James looking at the ceiling.  
  
Lily laughed again. "Do I get any say in this?"  
  
"What do you have against my ideas?" laughed James as he pulled out his wand and painted the walls pink and enchanted the ceiling.  
  
"Well I get to do the carpeting!"  
  
James waved his wand. "Light pink looks good."  
  
Lily laughed again. "Well it is a girl, Lily! It has to be pink!" said James.  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Okay, whatever you say, but I get to place the furniture," said Lily.  
  
"You can also do the drapery and stuff, I am no good with designs, only solid colors as you can see," said James gesturing around the room.  
  
"Well, if everything is just pink, that doesn't give me much to work with," Lily declared looking at James.  
  
James pretended to look hurt. "Fine," he gave in, "what colors should the walls be?" he asked as he wiped everything back to white.  
  
"Well, I wasn't thinking of just one solid color. We have to do designs, but first we need a theme."  
  
"Quidditch," James shouted right away.  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. She should have known. "Well, we can incorporate Quidditch in somehow, but we need something more general."  
  
James thought for a moment. "How about like a Hogwarts theme or something, it would go with Quidditch and the ceiling being the sky. We could use red and gold for Gryffindor and red is the color for roses so we could kill two birds with one stone there..."  
  
Lily clapped her hands together. "That's brilliant James! See? You have a creative side deep down."  
  
James shuddered. "Don't tell Sirius, he'd get a kick out of it."  
  
Lily laughed. "Pride isn't everything, you know."  
  
"Well are we going to get started or not? Rose has to have some kind of room before she is born!" James teased.  
  
"Okay, okay, we just need somewhere to start." Lily said.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
After one week and many, many, many, different designs, Rose's room was done. The ceiling was enchanted to look like the sky (minus the thunderstorms), the carpet was off white, the walls were deep red with gold sponge painted on top, and the drapes were also gold along with the blankets and pillows.  
  
Over the crib James hung a Quidditch mobile, which he crafted himself. Also, thanks to James, there was a real snitch flying around the room with a spell on it so it wouldn't leave the room or get too close to the crib. The dressers were mahogany along with the rocker that sat in the corner.  
  
Lily was quite impressed with the outcome and was sure that Rose was going to love it. Now all that was left to do was to wait until the day that she would be born, which was in approximately 3 weeks.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
A/N- For some reason I have been on a writing spurt. I guess it is because I am so angry at someone that I thought was a friend that I need some way to let out emotion and stuff (especially the more dramatic and darker parts, such as when Matt killed his wife) so I have been writing non stop. Summer is here and I am off of school, so that may be another reason that I am writing so diligently. Well more soon! I have to write 2 versions of this next chapter and then get an opinion from a friend of which one to use, so it might take a bit longer for me to post. 


	27. Rose

A/N- I have decided to write really long chapters from now until...well until I can't write any more really long chapters. Summer has just started and I am already sitting around with nothing to do, so get ready for long chapters...  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
James was sitting with his head in his hands at St. Mungo's at three am. It was July 20th and he supposed that it would be forever known to him as 'Rose's birthday', at least he hoped. James had told himself the same thing on July 19th at ten pm, exactly five hours ago.  
  
It had truthfully been a long five hours for James, not to mention Lily as well. He had been running in and out of Lily's room bringing her refreshments or just getting some fresh air. That was what he was currently doing right now, getting fresh air, and, thought he hated to admit it, he was also getting a break from Lily who wasn't the most pleasant person to be around when she was in labor although her temper was cooling down a bit.  
  
Figuring that Lily would get anxious if he was gone for too long, James got off of the bench and shuffled back into Lily's room hoping that she was in a good mood. Her face lit up when he entered the room and she motioned for him to sit on the end of her bed. "How are you feeling?" James asked lovingly.  
  
Lily shrugged. "Extremely tired. James, why won't she just come out?" she whined.  
  
James captured Lily's hands in his as he scooted closer to the head of her bed. "Be patient, she'll come then she's ready."  
  
Lily smiled weakly. "I want to hold her...and see who's hair she inherited," Lily mused.  
  
James laughed. "I hope she has your eyes. She has to have my hair, it is Potter family tradition."  
  
"You hope she has your hair as in color or...um...unique style?" Lily asked.  
  
"Either or would be nice," James laughed.  
  
Lily grimaced and grasped her stomach. "Are you okay?" James asked touching her forehead.  
  
She nodded as she shifted slightly in bed. "The nurse did say that I should press this button every time I have a contraction. Could you hand me that box thing?" Lily asked.  
  
James handed her the orange box with the yellow button on it. Lily pressed it once and set it on the bed next to her. "Doesn't it seem like just yesterday we found out we were having Rose?" Lily sighed.  
  
James nodded. "That was the best day of my life, besides the day that you finally agreed to be my girlfriend."  
  
Lily laughed. "It was one of the happier days of my life," she said.  
  
James yawned as Lily sat straight up in her bed. "Ow!" she screamed.  
  
James grabbed her hands and held them until she laid back down again. "I am so glad that you are with me, James," she gasped pressing the yellow button again.  
  
"There's no place else I'd rather be," he whispered in an attempt to calm her down.  
  
She bolted up again, knocking her head against James' on the way up. James grabbed his head as Lily cried out in pain and pressed the yellow button again.  
  
"What does that yellow button do anyway?" James asked as soon as Lily calmed down.  
  
"It records the time between my contractions."  
  
James nodded and didn't ask anymore questions about it.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
James threw open the doors to the waiting room where his friends had gathered with a silly grin on his face. "I'm a father!" he crowed probably louder than he should have.  
  
Amy squealed and jumped off of Remus' lap in delight. She stood sill for a moment before she began jumping around in circles. "I'm an auntie!" she screamed.  
  
Gloria was screaming in delight and Teresa had joined Amy in dancing around the waiting room. Sirius gave James a hug while Remus plugged his ears and muttered something that sounded like 'women'. Peter had a smile on his face.  
  
"So Prongs, what does little Rose look like?" Sirius asked.  
  
"I don't know! I ran out here right after I cut her cord to tell you guys!" screamed James. "But I am running back to find out!" and with that said James ran out of the waiting room, smacking his head on the pole that separated the double doors.  
  
"I'm okay!" he called as he continued to run down the hallway, now holding his head.  
  
"James, get over here!" Lily whispered sounding tired and excited at the same time.  
  
James practically ran over, being careful not to trip over his own feet. He looked down at the bundle in Lily's arms. James was speechless.  
  
Rose had a full head of messy red hair, pink cheeks, and full red lips. "Isn't she gorgeous James?" Lily whispered as a tear escaped her eyes.  
  
"Yes," James said as he stared fixatedly at her.  
  
"Do you want to hold her?" asked Lily.  
  
"Yes, but I had better pull up a chair, I can barely stand," said James pulling up a chair to Lily's bedside.  
  
Lily laughed as more tears escaped her eyes. She handed Rose over to James and reached over to her bedside table and grabbed a tissue for herself.  
  
It was the most wonderful feeling in the world, holding Rose, even better than riding a broom. James held her tight against him and touched her cheek softly with his finger. He skin was as soft as silk and her hair felt even softer.  
  
James felt a tear escape his own eyes. "I still can't believe it," he laughed.  
  
"I know," cried Lily as she leaned back on her pile of pillows.  
  
"We made her?"  
  
"Yes James, we did," Lily smiled.  
  
"What color eyes does she have?" James asked dreamily.  
  
"I don't know, I guess we'll find out when she wakes up," replied Lily.  
  
James handed Rose back to Lily feeling like he was flying in the clouds. "I love you," he whispered before pressing his lips lightly on Lily's. She kissed him back before pulling apart and whispering, "I love you too James."  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"Come on Moony! Move aside so we can go in and see them!" said a very impatient Sirius.  
  
Remus shook his head as he looked into the window on the door to James' and Lily's room. "Let them have a minute," he said watching Lily and James staring lovingly at a bundle of pink blankets.  
  
"They are so cute," gasped Amy as she grabbed Remus' hand smiling at him.  
  
Remus smiled back lovingly at Amy.  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Come on!" he said again.  
  
Remus opened the door and walked in followed by Amy, Sirius, Peter, Gloria, and Teresa. Lily and James smiled at them as they stood on either side of the bed. "Everybody this is Rose," said Lily.  
  
"She's so small!" gasped Gloria.  
  
"Prongs, she had been cursed with your messy hair!" laughed Sirius.  
  
"What color are her eyes?" asked Teresa adoringly.  
  
"We don't know yet," said James, "Are my parents here?"  
  
"Yes, but they didn't want to crowd you. They told us that they would come in when we left, along with Lily's parents who are here also," said Remus.  
  
"Petunia isn't here is she?" shot Lily as her eyes darkened.  
  
Amy laughed. "Of course not, if she had come we would have turned her away," she paused for a moment before adding, "Can I hold her?"  
  
Lily nodded and passed Rose over to Amy. "Ohh...She's so precious Lily!" Amy cooed.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
After Rose had been held by all of their friends, Lily and James said goodbye and asked them to send in their parents. James was stroking Rose's cheek when she squirmed and her eyes fluttered open. "Lily! She's awake!" said James bending down so Lily could see.  
  
A pair of beautiful hazel eyes met theirs. "She had my eyes!" gasped James.  
  
"Hey Rose," Lily whispered. Rose's eyes looked at her mother. "I'm your mum!" Lily stared at her daughter looking straight into her eyes. "And there's your daddy!"  
  
James saw Rose look up at him and he smiled. "I love you Rose," he whispered.  
  
Rose's lips twitched. "James, I think she smiled at you!" said Lily.  
  
James looked down at Rose. "You think so?" he asked.  
  
Lily nodded.  
  
The door slowly creaked open and in walked their parents. "Is she awake?" whispered Mrs. Evans.  
  
"Yes mum, she's awake," Lily told her mother. "Hey Rose, your grandparents are here," whispered Lily.  
  
"Oh Lily, you make us all sound so old!" laughed Mr. Potter.  
  
"May I?" asked Mrs. Potter holding her arms out to James who was still holding Rose.  
  
James nodded and handed Rose over to his mom. She gasped. "She is adorable! John, come here!" she said.  
  
"James, she has your eyes! Oh, but I see she also inherited the Potter hair!" laughed Mr. Potter reaching out to hold Rose.  
  
"Well at least it is red and not black," laughed James.  
  
"How are you feeling Lily?" asked Mrs. Evans.  
  
"A bit tired, but other wise perfectly fine mum," smiled Lily.  
  
Rose was passed on to Lily's mother now. "Oh Lily, she is absolutely perfect!"  
  
"She has your red hair and your rosy cheeks!" said her father.  
  
"They both go perfectly with her name," said Mr. Potter putting a loving arm around his wife.  
  
"We tried to get your brother to come, James, but he said that he was busy today," said his mother.  
  
James snorted. "No, Seth is never busy. I'd prefer if he didn't come to visit Rose, you know how he is."  
  
"Well maybe he can get a little excited sometimes and overdo some things..." started his mother.  
  
"He got my cousin Alex a dragon for his birthday!" exclaimed James. "For his 5th birthday, mind you!"  
  
Mr. Potter shrugged. "Well he is family all the same."  
  
"Have you chosen godparents yet?" asked Mrs. Evans feeling that it would be wise to steer the conversation in a different direction.  
  
"Well Amy Stephens is definitely godmother," stated Lily.  
  
"And I was torn between Remus and Sirius for godfather," James added on.  
  
"Well I think that Amy is a wonderful choice, darling," said Mrs. Evans.  
  
Mr. Potter stood thinking for a moment. "Sirius, I think, would be a better godfather towards a baby boy, unless you want Rose to grow up a Tomboy."  
  
"Very good point," said James.  
  
"Aren't your forgetting Peter?" asked Mrs. Potter.  
  
James shrugged. "Well I don't know if Peter is really godfather material, he has kind of been distant lately."  
  
"I think that Remus is a great choice for godfather," said Mrs. Evans, staring at Rose. "I have met him numerous times and heard so many nice things about him from Lily when she was at Hogwarts."  
  
Lily blushed. "I think that Amy and Remus would make excellent godparents," she stated.  
  
"Well, we'll leave you alone and send them in so you can tell them," said Mr. Potter grabbing his jacket and giving James a hug.  
  
"Congratulations again," said Mrs. Potter.  
  
Mr. and Mrs. Evans also said their goodbyes and handed Rose back to Lily.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Lily laid a sleeping Rose into her crib and stood back to look at her. She was a sleeping angel. James sighed as he magically unpacked Rose's bags. He walked over to the crib next to Lily. "Come on, we should let her sleep," Lily said after a moment.  
  
"That's it? We're done with her?" James said teasingly.  
  
"She is going to be sleeping for a majority of her first few days here," said Lily as she walked out of the nursery.  
  
"Everyone always says that babies are a lot of work," James said looking some what confused.  
  
"They are, after a while. I think we got lucky though, Rose has been an angel so far," said Lily, "She never cries or fusses and she is content with almost anything."  
  
"Yeah," said James as he walked down the stairs. "How long until I can teach her how to fly?" he asked.  
  
Lily laughed. "Not until she is at least seven James."  
  
"What?!?! I learned to fly when I was five! She can come to my games at least right?"  
  
"We'll see about that one. For now let's just take it step by step," said Lily.  
  
"Alright, alright. So what are we doing today?" James asked.  
  
"Well it is eleven now and Amy and Remus are coming over for dinner at five. When did your parents say that they were going to be over?" asked Lily.  
  
"Oh, I had forgotten that they were staying with us," James admitted sheepishly.  
  
"Well, anyway, we need to prepare somewhere for them to stay," Lily continued.  
  
"Remind me again why they are staying."  
  
"James, I am going to need their help, especially your mother's. Besides, they are family and we never get to see them. We should take advantage of their offer, especially since I am going to need my rest since babies usually are up at night a lot. You don't want to come home to a crabby family now do you?" said Lily.  
  
"They offered me a week off of practice and stuff, I could take their offer and stay home," said James.  
  
"James, don't. They need you and you are going to need some practice before the season starts up again," Lily said as she made her way into the kitchen. "Besides, you need something to keep you busy."  
  
James sighed and recognized his defeat. "Alright, I'll apparate over to my parent's house and ask what time they are coming."  
  
"Alright, just don't be late for lunch," Lily called from the kitchen as she began to rummage through the fridge.  
  
"Wouldn't dream of it," said James before apparating to his parent's house.  
  
Lily sighed as she pulled out the plates and silverware from the cabinet. She was glad that Mr. and Mrs. Potter had agreed to help them out at home, she was going to need it. Yet half of her wasn't sure if it was such a good idea. They were working with the Ministry trying to figure out who was behind the murders. What if someone had figured it out and was following them? Lily shuddered to think that they might have enemies.  
  
She brushed the thought quickly out of her head as she began to prepare lunch. She was just being stupid. But then again, what if they did have enemies? What if someone found out where they were staying and came to find them.  
  
Lily again brushed the thought out of her head. She shouldn't have to worry herself over these things. She knew that Mr. and Mrs. Potter cared for her and her family and wouldn't do anything to put them in danger. No, she was definitely being stupid.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"That was a lovely dinner Lily," said Remus as he pushed back his plate.  
  
"I agree," said Amy.  
  
"Thank you," said Lily, blushing.  
  
There was a cry from upstairs and Lily started to get up from the table. "No, I'll get her Lily. You stay here," said James motioning for her to sit back down.  
  
James left the room and went up the stairs. "So how was your first day at home with little Rose?" asked Remus.  
  
"Very uneventful, all she really does is sleep, but I guess I am thankful for that," Lily laughed.  
  
"She seems like the perfect child," sighed Amy.  
  
"Well what do you expect," said Remus.  
  
Lily laughed. "She never cries or complains, but I suppose that will change in the next few months."  
  
"At least you didn't have twins! My mother was always complaining about how much of a handful Rain and I were when we were younger," laughed Amy.  
  
"Oh, that reminds me! Amy, do you think that Rain would like to see Rose sometime? I meant to visit her before I left Mungo's this morning, but it slipped my mind," said Lily.  
  
"You could take Rose to see her, but I don't think that Rain will remember seeing her. That is the problem with this new medication that she is on, she can't remember anything for too long," said Amy.  
  
"I thought you said that she was getting better," said Remus looking concerned.  
  
"Yes, she is getting better, but she isn't going to be able to remember anything. The hospital said that after she is completely better her family could bring in pictures and other memories to try to get her to remember, but there is a slim chance that it will work," sighed Amy.  
  
"Well there is still a chance, Amy, no matter how slim," said Lily grabbing her friend's hand.  
  
James came down the stairs holding a wide awake Rose. "She's up!" he said.  
  
"How is my little Rose?" said Lily reaching out to hold her. "See look, your godparents are here!"  
  
Amy laughed. "Yes, auntie Amy and uncle Remus are here, like we always will be."  
  
"James I still can't believe that you are a father. I thought you were joking the first time that you told me," laughed Remus.  
  
"Yeah, neither can I. I never could have imagined that things could be this good for me right now," said James.  
  
"Rose is so quiet," Lily said out of no where.  
  
"Well she is only a few days old, Lily. Most babies are quiet at that age," said Amy.  
  
Lily laughed, "I guess your right. My mother said that we were always so loud when we were young."  
  
"Lily, everything is loud to your mother," Amy said.  
  
"Sometimes peace and quiet is a good thing," said Remus thoughtfully.  
  
Rose looked up at Lily and her mouth gave another twitch. "I think she smiled again!" said Lily holding her tighter.  
  
"Let me see!" said Amy bending across the table to see her niece.  
  
"Well she isn't smiling now," said Lily.  
  
"Can I hold her? Maybe I can make her smile again," said Amy.  
  
"Doubt it," Remus muttered.  
  
Amy hit him.  
  
"Hey! I was only saying the truth!" he yelled.  
  
"And why wouldn't I be able to get her to smile, Remus darling?" Amy asked as Lily placed Rose in her arms.  
  
Remus shrugged, "No reason."  
  
Amy smiled at Rose. "Lily, she has the most perfect eyes! She looks right at you!"  
  
Lily smiled. "She got those from James."  
  
James squeezed his hand. "Except I just stared at Lily with my eyes, not anyone else," he laughed.  
  
Lily blushed.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"Lily, I'm going to practice. My parents should be here in a half and hour and I should be home at five-ish," James said as he kissed her.  
  
"Bye James, Rose and I will miss you!" said Lily, looking up from the book that she was reading entitled 'From Day 1 to the End of the First Month, What to Expect With Your Little Witch or Wizard'.  
  
"I'm going to miss you too," said James kissing Lily again. He left the study and apparated from the hall way.  
  
"Rose, it looks like it is just you and me for a while," said Lily smiling at Rose who was sitting in her portable bassinet kicking her feet and holding onto her favorite stuffed toy, a fuzzy white owl.  
  
Lily was glad that she was able to raise Rose in the wizarding world. Wizarding toys were much more fun then the muggle ones that she grew up with. Rose's favorite owl could fly and follow her around, therefore never getting lost. It slightly resembled Lily and James' own post owl Ashes, who was now usually kept outside and well away from Rose to avoid any accidents. Rose had a strange interest in owls for some reason, possibly how fluffy and graceful they are.  
  
Lily shrugged, it was one of those things that she would never figure out. The door bell rang and she rushed to answer it, but not before making sure Rose would be alright for a few seconds. She always did this before answering the door as she didn't want to bring Rose with her because of her fear that it might be one of the murderers or something. Lily knew that she had nothing to fear this time as she knew that it was the Potters that were ringing the bell, but all the same, she didn't want to take chances if she didn't have to.  
  
Lily pulled open the door and smiled at Mr. and Mrs. Potter. "Hey mom and dad!"  
  
"Hello Lily, long time no see!" Mr. Potter laughed as he dragged his bags inside of the house.  
  
Lily laughed. "You can put your bags in the sitting room. I hope you don't mind sleeping in there. We turned the guest bedroom into Rose's room. The sitting room is very comfortable though. It is close to the downstairs bathroom and kitchen," she said guiding them towards the sitting room.  
  
"Thank you Lily. It sounds perfect," said Mrs. Potter.  
  
"I am the one that should be thanking you. I am going to need lots of help with Rose," said Lily.  
  
"Speaking of Rose, is she up?" asked Mr. Potter.  
  
"Oh yes, she is in the study, right this way," said Lily. "I told her that you were coming today."  
  
Mrs. Potter laughed. "I doubt she remembers us, she had so many visitors at the hospital."  
  
"She does seem to enjoy the owl that you gave her though. She never goes anywhere with out it," said Lily as they entered the study.  
  
"I told you giving her the owl was a good idea!" exclaimed Mr. Potter. "Can I hold her?" he asked.  
  
"Of course, you don't have to ask, you are her grandparents after all," Lily laughed.  
  
They all sat down in the study and began chit chatting about this and that until Rose started to fuss. Lily looked at the clock on her wall and laughed. "I got so caught visiting with you that I forgot to give Rose her lunch!" Lily exclaimed as she hurried off to the kitchen to grab a bottle from the fridge.  
  
She came back into the study and took Rose from Mr. Potter and began to feed her. "She is an angel Lily," Mrs. Potter commented.  
  
"Yes, aren't all babies," Lily laughed.  
  
Mr. Potter shrugged. "I guess your right. They are all angels, well most of the time at least."  
  
"I have heard that girls are calmer than boys, but I wouldn't know as I have never had a baby girl before," said Mrs. Potter.  
  
"Well I guess you'll find out when you're here. How long are you staying anyway?" Lily asked.  
  
Mr. Potter looked at his wife. "There is something that we need to tell you," he said looking serious.  
  
Lily nodded for him to continue. "We aren't really here to help you with Rose."  
  
Lily became confused. "Then why are you here?"  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
A/N- Ahhh....Suspense.....nothing else in the world like it! I am interested in hearing your ideas on why James' parents are staying with them. I already know why, but I want to see what you think...So until next post...leave a review! 


	28. Being a Potter

Mr. Potter took in a long breath and Lily had half a mind to yell 'Spill it already!', but she thought better of it. "James is a very successful Quidditch player and you, Lily, are one of the smartest witches of our time. The Ministry has a suspicion that this 'Dark Power' as they call it is after successful families."  
  
"But why the successful families?" asked Lily still very confused.  
  
"They figure it would scare and weaken the rest of the wizarding world if they are able to destroy the successful and powerful wizarding families and kind of blind them from all else that happens around. We cannot let this happen!"  
  
"But why us? I mean, there are plenty of other successful wizarding families in Britain," Lily protested, refusing to believe what she was hearing.  
  
"As I said before, it was just a suspicion that they might be after you. That is why we are here, to protect you until these evil days pass away," Mr. Potter finished.  
  
"Don't forget, Lily, you married into a wizarding legend. Potter is a very highly thought of name, one full of riches, power, and fame," said Mrs. Potter.  
  
Lily hadn't forgotten about the Potter name and what it meant to be a Potter. "I hadn't forgotten about what it means to be a Potter. I just never would have suspected this."  
  
"We Potters have our friends, and yet we have our enemies as well, just like everyone else. We are lucky to have very powerful and loyal friends, but very unfortunate to have powerful and deceitful enemies," said Mrs. Potter.  
  
Lily nodded. "Does James know?" she asked.  
  
Mr. Potter shook his head. "No, we were going to tell both of you tonight, but it seems our plans have been altered," he said.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"Why the hell do I have to be a Potter?" James grumbled as he climbed into bed.  
  
Lily sighed. He had taken his parent's news worse than Lily had. "James, they weren't even sure if we were going to be the next target!"  
  
"Being a Potter means something in society, being descendents of Godric Gryffindor and all," he sighed as he flopped onto the bed.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Yeah, we Potters can trace our roots back that far. I don't know why it means so much to people, I suppose it is all of the money that has been inherited and then repassed throughout our family line," said James.  
  
"But why us? Why not go for the descendents of Slytherin or something?" Lily asked, flopping onto the bed next to him.  
  
"There are a hell of a lot more people that can trace their roots back to Slytherin than to Gryffindor. Besides, if you didn't know, you have officially met the only living Potters and the Potter family is supposedly the only family living now that can trace back to Gryffindor," sighed James.  
  
Lily was surprised, but it did make sense. James never spoke of his cousins or aunts or anything. "What happened to them all?" Lily asked, hoping that James would get upset at her for asking.  
  
"Killed. Every. Last. One."  
  
Lily sat in silence.  
  
"Remember back in sixth year, there was a month that I never asked you out and no one could ever find me at night?"  
  
Lily nodded slowly. She remembered it perfectly, how could she forget something like that? She had become somewhat concerned about him when he suddenly stopped annoying her. So one night she followed him out of the dorm and up to the Astronomy Tower where she watched him pace around the balcony. Lily had followed him there every evening without him knowing it.  
  
"Well that was why."  
  
"How?" Lily asked quietly.  
  
"Riddle. I will never forget his name. He got all of them at once at a reunion over our spring holiday. Still have no idea why actually. People say he was mad at the world. I think he was just crazy, being from Slytherin and all," James paused to regain his thoughts. "I did some research on him. He left Hogwarts about 3 years before we entered. He was prefect and head boy. He won numerous awards for school services. He seemed like a normal person and, as far as I could tell, he had no reason to revolt against the world. It also said that he was able to trace his roots back to Slytherin. It was possible that he had heard the tales of how Gryffindor treated Slytherin so he wanted to kill of his last descendents."  
  
"Oh," was all Lily could say.  
  
"For some reason he got away that night and no one has heard of him since. I suppose he thought he had gotten all of the Potters, for whatever reason he wanted to. But he hadn't. He missed my parents and brother who were vacationing in Paris at the time, and of course me, who was at Hogwarts."  
  
"James, I...I...I never...knew..." Lily stuttered.  
  
"You weren't supposed to know, I didn't want to scare you away from me. But I suppose it is better that you know now," he sighed.  
  
Lily looked at her feet. "I wouldn't have left you if you had told me before," she said softly.  
  
"Really?" said James looking at her.  
  
Lily sighed. "I guess I kind of knew a little bit of what was happening to you at that time in our sixth year."  
  
"How?"  
  
"I used to follow you up to the Astronomy Tower, every night. I was probably the only one who knew where you were going every night. You used to talk to yourself, but I never got close enough to hear exactly what you were talking about," Lily paused for a moment.  
  
James looked up at her and smiled weakly. "Why didn't you say anything before now?"  
  
"Well wouldn't you think it was odd if this girl that has always hated your guts suddenly decided to be nice to you?" Lily snorted.  
  
James shrugged. "I was 16, I probably wouldn't have noticed actually."  
  
Lily laughed. "True, but I had to keep my cool and continue on with the way things were going. I was going to talk to you if you kept going to the tower, but then you snapped out of it."  
  
"Yeah, Sirius does know how to cheer people up," James laughed. "But I would have cheered up a hell of a lot faster if you had said something."  
  
"Well I was really going to, but I didn't know what to say. I thought that you would have gotten mad at me if you had known that I was following you," Lily whispered.  
  
"You had been going to school with me for almost six years and you didn't know that there is nothing in the world that you could do to make me mad?" laughed James again.  
  
Lily shrugged. They sat in silence, collecting their thoughts, until Lily spoke again.  
  
"Well now I know why we are somewhat of a target," she said.  
  
"I hope nothing happens to us," said James.  
  
"Me too," Lily said as she cuddled into James.  
  
"I don't think that I could go through that again," he sighed.  
  
"Well now you have me by your side, James," said Lily smiling up at him.  
  
"Yeah," James said, squeezing her shoulder, "I have you by my side."  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"Bye mom and dad! Lily, Rose and I are going to Lily's parent's house," said James as he walked over to the jacket that was to be used as a portkey.  
  
"James, are you sure that this portkey is going to work?" Lily asked James.  
  
"Of course! Dumbledore set it up, didn't he?" James laughed.  
  
"Yes..." said Lily.  
  
"There is no other way, Lils. Hurry grab a hold of the sleeve," he said.  
  
There was a jolt and Lily's world started to spin. She closed her eyes so she didn't get sick and held tighter onto Rose, thanking the stars that she was asleep. They landed softly in the Evans' living room and Lily heard the clatter of a breaking tea cup. "Lily, is that you?" a voice called from the next room.  
  
"Yes mother."  
  
"Where are you?" she asked.  
  
"In the living room mother," said Lily as she dusted herself off.  
  
"Oh there you are! Oh and you brought little Rose along as well!" said Mrs. Evans.  
  
"Can we sit down mother? Portkey travel isn't exactly agreeing with me at the moment."  
  
"Of course sweetie," she said seating her self on the couch.  
  
Lily passed Rose to James and they both sat down across from Lily's mother. "Where is dad?" asked Lily.  
  
"Working, but he should be home really soon," sighed Mrs. Evans. "How is the family now that Rose is part of it?" she asked.  
  
"Much more interesting," said James.  
  
Mrs. Evans laughed. "Yes, life is always more interesting with children. A lot more exciting too, I must say."  
  
Just then Rose's stuffed owl came shooting through the open window behind the couch and landed on James shoulder. Mrs. Evans gasped in shock. "What on earth..."  
  
"Don't worry mother, it isn't real. This is one of the perks of raising a child in the wizarding world, the toys are much better," said Lily.  
  
"What exactly does it do?" her mother asked, still looking unsure.  
  
"Well it has a certain enchantment on it so it follows Rose everywhere she goes and never gets lost. I ran out and bought it the second day that she was at our house as she showed an odd interest in Ashes, our post owl," James explained.  
  
"It looks so realistic," gasped her mother again.  
  
"Magic does do the world some good, mother," Lily laughed.  
  
"Wait until your father sees this!"  
  
James used all of his energy to keep from laughing out loud. They were having a conversation about a stuffed owl. But, he supposed that Mrs. Evans had never seen anything like it as she was a muggle. In fact, he would have been worried if she had.  
  
Lily's father arrived and the conversation turned, much to Lily's distaste, to her sister Petunia and how well she was doing at her new house with Vernon. They lived out in Surry, thankfully no where near Sirius, in a small brown house that was, according to Lily's parents, the perfect place to raise a family. "...really Lily, you should go and visit sometime. Rose still hasn't met her aunt yet," said Mrs. Evans who, shortly after, received a glare from her husband.  
  
"Rose has already seen all of her aunties, haven't you Rose?" said Lily looking down at Rose who was looking up at her and playing with her hair.  
  
"So you did go to see Petunia?" asked Mrs. Evans, completely missing the point.  
  
"No, when did I say that?" asked Lily, nonchalantly.  
  
"Well you just said that Rose had gone to see all of her aunties," coaxed her mother.  
  
"Yes, I know I said that."  
  
"Well that means that you must have seen Petunia."  
  
"No, it doesn't. I declared a long time ago that Petunia was not going to be Rose's aunt, or have any relationship with her what so ever," Lily said firmly, smiling deviously down at Rose, who smiled slightly. "See mother? She smiled when I said that Petunia was never going to play a part in her life," Lily laughed.  
  
Mr. Evans put his head in his hands as he listened to his wife trying to change Lily's mind. James also assumed the same form as Mr. Evans, wondering why Mrs. Evans didn't just give up. No one can argue with Lily and win, as James had found out on countless occasions.  
  
"Why don't we show Lily the addition that we added onto our garden, Katherine," suggested Mr. Evans in attempt to change the topic.  
  
Mrs. Evans looked flustered. "Well, alright, I suppose. Right this way," she said leading them out the back door.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"Peter, if you don't do this, I'll find someone who will and you'll have to suffer the consequences."  
  
"But my lord..." Peter squeaked.  
  
"I know that you have connections with them, but it is time to decide where your loyalties truly lie. You had to have expected this sometime. I think it is one of the only reasons I agreed to take you into my services. You are extremely well connected Peter Petigrew and now you must use those connections to our benefits," his master cackled.  
  
Peter drew in a long breath and nodded his head. "Good, good, Peter. I knew you'd see it my way."  
  
"How long do I have to complete this?" asked Peter cautiously.  
  
His master pondered this thought for a moment before answering, "As long as it takes and NO mistakes Peter."  
  
Peter nodded and left the cold room.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Remus broke the bond that connected Amy's lips to his with great difficulty. Amy sighed reluctantly easing her grip on Remus. "It's getting late," Remus whispered as he looked into Amy's soft blue eyes.  
  
"So," Amy replied moving in for another kiss.  
  
"So I should be going," replied Remus after letting Amy give him a soft kiss.  
  
"No you shouldn't," Amy said nuzzling her head under his chin.  
  
"I have to Amy, believe me, I wouldn't be going if I didn't need to," Remus said softly as he took in the smell of her hair. She had gotten new shampoo since their last date, Remus concluded when he smelled strawberry instead of the usual vanilla.  
  
"I no, I just don't want you to leave," Amy whined.  
  
"We will see each other at Sirius' 'house warming party'," said Remus looking down at Amy.  
  
"I s'pose," she sighed.  
  
"So, I can go?" Remus teased.  
  
"I never said that," Amy laughed.  
  
"I can't stay here forever."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Are you making this hard on me on purpose?"  
  
"Maybe, is it working?"  
  
"I recon it is."  
  
"So you'll stay."  
  
"I never said that."  
  
Amy sighed. "Well I s'pose I should let you go then, shouldn't I?"  
  
"Yes, you should," said Remus.  
  
"Like the old saying, 'if you love something, let it go. And if it comes back it's yours, if not it never was'," said Amy as she stood up and drew in a deep breath. "And I love you, Remus Lupin, so I am letting you go."  
  
"I'll be sure to come back because I love you too, Amy Stephens."  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
A/N- Well now you know why the Potters are staying with Lily and James. I decided to be nice and not leave a cliff hanger, but I was originally going to cut off the very last sentence. So...yeah...until next time...leave a review... 


	29. Quidditch and Tears

All of the stories that Lily had heard about raising a child slowly became a reality. First came the lack of sleep which was due to the fact that Rose was waking up about 4 times each night. James had told her not to go to Rose every single time, but Lily still went, constantly having the feeling that something was wrong. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't brush away the nagging voice in the back of her mind that was telling her that something was going to be wrong. Even if James got up in the middle of the night to calm Rose, Lily would always go with him, just to make sure.  
  
It was madness and Lily knew it. She was torturing herself with questions of 'what if'. She had to stop it or she was literally going to go insane. Her dreams were troubled at night, well the dreams that she could remember anyway. They were full of death and screams and she would wake up from them breathing hard and screaming. James was always there to comfort her and she was glad that he was.  
  
James' Quidditch practices were during the day so Lily was left at home with his parents and Rose basically doing nothing. She really needed a hobby, she found that when she was bored her thoughts seemed to drive her up the wall.  
  
She remembered a few days ago an old muggle craft that she used to enjoy before she went to Hogwarts. Lily spent her day rummaging through her old boxes from the cellar until she found what she was looking for, her old book on cross stitching. It would be the perfect thing to keep her mind off of the boredom that was hanging in the air.  
  
It was a bright and sunny afternoon in mid-August and Lily was sitting in the study cross stitching Rose a small throw to decorate her bed when she got older. She would occasionally look over at the muggle device called a baby monitor to see if anything was stirring in Rose's room. Muggles were pretty bright and knew how to use the resources and they came up with the wildest, yet extremely useful, ideas and contraptions.  
  
Rose was sleeping soundly up in her room and Mr. and Mrs. Potter were out in Diagon Alley looking for...what were they looking for? Oh yeah, a present for James for his birthday which was in three weeks. Lily had already gotten him something and she knew that he would love it. When she was shopping with James a few weeks ago they went into the Quidditch supplies shop and James spent a whole half hour goggling over a pair of the newest wrist guards. Supposedly the wrist guards came with a spell that would attract them to the handle of your broom if you were falling. Lily had gone out last weekend when she was supposed to be getting something for Rose's room and bought the wrist guards.  
  
Lily tied off the thread as she finished the last stitch on the throw. She held it up in front of her and admired her handy work. In the middle was a bundle of roses surrounded by some type of silvery ribbon that wound around the edges of the throw and tied the roses together. It was perfect for Rose, but it would have to be hidden from her until she was old enough to take care of it properly.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
James came home from Quidditch practice just in time for dinner. Rose was awake and sat amused by her owl in her bouncing chair as they ate. "So how was Rose while I was gone?" asked James.  
  
"She was an angel. She slept most of the time and let me finish her little throw that I had been working on," said Lily as she smiled down at Rose.  
  
"So do you think that she can come to the match on Saturday?" asked James running his hand through his hair.  
  
Lily looked down at Rose. "What do you say Rose, want to go to daddy's match?"  
  
Rose kicked her feet.  
  
"I guess that's a yes," said Lily, smiling.  
  
James smiled. "So she can come?"  
  
"Of course, but your parents will have to come too," said Lily.  
  
"Why?" asked James. "My mother hates the sport!"  
  
"Well I need someone to take her home if she gets restless. I don't want to miss your fist game," said Lily, picking up her glass of water and taking a sip.  
  
James smiled again. "Alright then, my parents will come to take Rose home if they need to," he said. "Where are they any way?"  
  
"Diagon Alley, shopping for your birthday present," replied Lily as she cleared her plate from the table. "They have been gone for about three hours."  
  
James laughed. "You can expect them to be gone for another two hours. They always take forever when shopping for presents. They are never home once Christmas hits," he chuckled.  
  
"Well no one is home for the Christmas season. Diagon Alley is always packed then. I still don't understand why people don't do their Christmas shopping early. They all rush out the week before and grab whatever is left, it doesn't make any sense," said Lily as she took Rose out of the bouncing chair.  
  
James shrugged as he cleared away his plate. "Another unanswerable question."  
  
"Here is one that is answerable. When is the next Order meeting?" asked Lily.  
  
James shrugged again. "I haven't gotten an owl about it yet so I don't know," he said.  
  
Rose giggled in Lily's arms as her stuffed owl started playfully diving at her and pulling away last minute before hitting her. "You know what today is Rose?" Lily asked.  
  
Rose kept giggling.  
  
"Today is your 3 month birthday!" said Lily with a smile on her face.  
  
"Has it really been a whole 3 months?" asked James in disbelief.  
  
"Yeah," said Lily.  
  
"It feels like it has been so much longer!" James groaned.  
  
Lily laughed. "Yeah, it does, with all of those late nights."  
  
"You know, you could let me get Rose every once and a while," said James.  
  
"But you need your rest for Quidditch practices," said Lily. It was the first excuse that came to mind.  
  
"Well you need your rest to take care of Rose for the next day," said James raising his eyebrows.  
  
"Yeah well..." Lily was saved by Mr. and Mrs. Potter coming home from their shopping trip.  
  
Mr. Potter walked into the kitchen and looked over at Lily and James. "So you already ate then?" he said.  
  
"Yes, dad," said James.  
  
"I told your mother we should have stopped to get something to eat at Diagon Alley, but did she listen, no, she didn't. Oh well, I'll just whip something up myself, unless you have leftovers," Mr. Potter said glumly.  
  
"Nope, no leftovers, sorry," said Lily apologetically.  
  
He sighed. "Well, I'd better get something going then."  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"See? Look Rose! There's daddy! Way up there in the sky!" said Lily smiling and pointing James out for Rose.  
  
The Chudley Cannons were winning 120 to 20. There was no sighting of the snitch yet, but James had done a few feints to fool the other seeker from Bulgaria. It was a very exciting match which meant that Lily had to spend a lot of time with her hands covering Rose's ears to deafen the clapping or angry yells.  
  
Half way through the match Rose got restless and Mr. Potter had to take her home. Lily fought off the urge to go home with Rose by telling herself that James would be fairly disappointed if she didn't stay for his first match of the season. Lily still had the nagging voice in the back of her head telling her to go home, but she ignored it.  
  
The score was 300 to 230 and Lily saw James diving to the ground with a triumphant look on his face. Lily knew then that he had seen the snitch and that the match was theirs. Cheering erupted in the stands and Lily was glad that Rose wasn't with her. The Chudley Cannons had won their first match of the season.  
  
Lily found her way onto the field searching for James through the mess of people. She felt two arms snake around her waist and screamed in shock. She whirled her head around and was met by James' lips on hers. Lily smiled to herself. She should have known it was James, his arms were the only arms that she fit into perfectly.  
  
"We won!" whispered James.  
  
"Yeah, I know!" Lily replied.  
  
"When did Rose go back?" James asked, kissing Lily's ear.  
  
Lily laughed. "Middle of the game, right before that chaser from Bulgaria fell off his broom."  
  
James laughed. "He had no idea how to fly."  
  
"Can we go home now? I am feeling a bit over whelmed," said Lily. James nodded and pulled out his wand to apparate. Lily did the same.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Lily arrived home to the sound of Rose's screams. She ran into the nursery where she saw Mrs. Potter sitting with her in the rocking chair and Mr. Potter standing over them holding up different toys. "What happened?" Lily asked urgently.  
  
"She missed you," said Mrs. Potter sounding slightly aggravated.  
  
Lily looked at Rose and she immediately stopped crying and smiled. Lily shook her head. "Have you been misbehaving for grandma and grandpa?" she asked.  
  
"Good luck finding her a babysitter when she gets older," said Mr. Potter shaking his head. "Where's James?"  
  
"In the shower."  
  
"Did they win?"  
  
"Yes," said Lily, taking Rose from Mrs. Potter.  
  
"Good, good," said Mr. Potter.  
  
"Rose, I don't know what I am going to do with you," said Lily.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"Lily, we have to leave Rose at home! There is no way that she'd be safe at Sirius' house warming party!" complained James.  
  
"Well I don't want to leave her at home!" protested Lily angrily.  
  
"But my parents are home!"  
  
"That's just it! She doesn't behave for anyone except for us!" said Lily almost to the point of yelling.  
  
"They raised me didn't they? They can handle her for a few hours," James said.  
  
"I just don't want to leave her at home! What if..."  
  
"Lily don't bother yourself with what if's. Come on, we are going to the party!" said James.  
  
Lily looked at her husband's face. He looked serious and tired of arguing with her. Lily gave in and grabbed her coat. "But I'm still not happy about this!"  
  
!!!!!!!!!  
  
A/N- That took me forever to write! Chapter 30 shouldn't be as hard, I know what is going to happen and it is going to be fun writing about Sirius' 'house warming party'. Well until next time, bye!  
  
Oh yeah, I started a new story called Lost in the Frame, and I would appreciate it if you would read and review that one if you have the time! The fic isn't too bad. 


	30. Serious Sirius

"Prongs! You made it!" yelled Sirius.  
  
"Yeah I did, didn't I?" smiled James giving his friend a hug.  
  
"Come one, the party is in the living room!" he said.  
  
Lily looked around the house and couldn't believe her eyes. It was clean. Not just clean either, it was perfectly clean. Even Petunia would be able to complain about the house. They followed Sirius into the living room and Lily immediately sat down by Amy, whom she assumed was here with Remus. "Hey Amy," Lily said.  
  
"Oh hey Lily," said Amy.  
  
"Having fun?" Lily asked her.  
  
Amy sighed and offered an obviously fake smile. "Oh yeah, I'm having a blast."  
  
Lily laughed. "I was hoping that you would be here. Now we can keep each other company."  
  
"More like keep each other sane is what we'll be doing. And a word of advice, if you are smart you wouldn't drink the green punch over at that table over there," said Amy pointing to the table over in the corner.  
  
"Spiked?"  
  
Amy nodded. "Courtesy of Peter I'm guessing."  
  
"It's just like that one party after the Gryffindors won the Quidditch cup in our seventh year, except that time, all of the punch was spiked," Lily laughed.  
  
"Yeah, so where is Rose?" asked Amy.  
  
"At home with James' parents probably screaming her head off," said Lily rolling her eyes.  
  
"Well it is better than having her here I guess," laughed Amy.  
  
"Well yeah I guess," sighed Lily.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"So Sirius, are you getting along with your neighbors?" James asked teasingly.  
  
"Nope," Sirius replied causing Peter and Remus to burst out laughing.  
  
"So what is the plan of action?" asked Remus.  
  
"What do you mean Remus?" asked Sirius, trying to look innocent.  
  
Peter rolled his eyes. "He means that you can't have possibly invited us all over just to have a 'house warming party'."  
  
"And why not? Maybe I did just want a house warming party," said Sirius looking insulted.  
  
"Nope, you're planning something," James concluded.  
  
"I am _serious _James," said Sirius.  
  
"Yeah, I know your _Sirius_, that is why I am suspecting something like a well planned out prank sabotage on your neighbors," said James.  
  
Sirius laughed. "You know me too well."  
  
"So what's the plan?" asked Peter.  
  
"Well the muggle mail comes in about an hour and they check their mail about a half hour after it comes," said Sirius.  
  
"Have you been spying?" asked Remus.  
  
"Only a little," laughed Sirius.  
  
"So what are we going to do? Fill their mail box with fireworks after the mail comes, but before they check it?" asked James.  
  
"Now that is an idea Prongs...why didn't I think of that?" Sirius asked himself.  
  
"So what is this huge big sabotage prank that you are planning?" asked Remus, trying to keep the worry out of his voice.  
  
"Well, since only grouchy little Mrs. Henson lives there no one will be in the house when she gets the mail."  
  
"Padfoot, you wouldn't!" exclaimed Remus.  
  
"She is a crazy old bat who needs mental help. So in the long run I'd be doing her a favor. Prongs, did you bring your cloak?" asked Sirius.  
  
James looked around the room and pulled out his cloak from his pocket. It wasn't any old cloak, it had the power to turn the wearer invisible. (A/N- duh what'd you expect it was going to be!) "Perfect," said Sirius.  
  
"Well now that you have the cloak, what are you going to do with it?" asked Peter.  
  
"Apparate into her house and scare the living day lights out of her. She'll call the police and when they get there I'll leave and they'll get her some help," said Sirius triumphantly. "And, thanks to Prongs for giving me the idea, before she gets her mail I am going to leave her a present."  
  
James groaned, why did he have to open his mouth? "Fine, but I want no part in this madness, Padfoot. Lily would kill me!" he said.  
  
"I wasn't going to ask for help from anyone," said Sirius.  
  
James sighed and left to find Lily who was still conversing with Amy in the corner of the room. "Having fun Lily dearest?" he asked as he slipped his arms around her waist.  
  
"Of course," said Lily, leaning back into his embrace.  
  
"Good," said James while kissing her head.  
  
Amy rolled her eyes. "Look at you guys! I thought that everyone got over the 'I-must-hold-onto-my-special-someone' phase after they got married," she laughed.  
  
Lily looked at James. "It's not a phase for us, it's a way of life," James declared.  
  
Amy rolled her eyes again. "I wish Remus felt that way. It's always, 'Not here, everyone will see!' It drives me nuts!"  
  
Lily laughed. "He'll see someday," she said.  
  
"Maybe," he said looking over at Remus who was still laughing with Sirius.  
  
"What are they up to?" asked Lily.  
  
"No idea," lied James.  
  
"I see," Lily said looking up at him.  
  
James kissed her. "I wanted no part in it," he said softly.  
  
Lily smiled and kissed him back. Amy rolled her eyes again. "I'm going to ask Remus about it. He'll tell me anything," she said as she walked over to Remus.  
  
"So, what are they planning?" Lily asked again.  
  
James groaned. "You don't want to know," he said.  
  
"Yeah, I guess I don't," she said.  
  
James held her tighter. "So how do you think Rose is?" he asked.  
  
"Sleeping," said Lily.  
  
"How can you tell?" asked James.  
  
"I'm her mother, I can tell," said Lily.  
  
"I see. Can I get in on this little mother-daughter bond thing? I'd like to know what both of you are doing at every moment," said James.  
  
Lily pretended to think it over. "No."  
  
"Why?" asked James, trying to sound hurt.  
  
"It's a mother daughter thing."  
  
James sighed and looked out of the window to see the muggle mail truck pulling up. He groaned. "What?" asked Lily.  
  
"Nothing."  
  
Soon after Sirius left the house so quietly that only James, Remus, and Peter knew he was gone. A half an hour later there was an explosion coming from outside and everyone ran to the window to see Mrs. Henson screaming as she became engulfed in fireworks. Lily looked at James. James looked innocently down at Lily. "I won't ask," she said simply.  
  
"Good," said James.  
  
Lily sighed and shook her head. "Come on, let's get something to drink," said James leading her over to the punch bowls.  
  
"The green one is spiked," Lily said.  
  
"How can you tell? You haven't tasted it yet," said James looking down at the green punch. "Even I can't tell whether it is or not."  
  
"Amy tipped me off. Apparently she saw Peter spike it with something."  
  
"It is always Peter who is spiking the drinks. Sometimes I don't get him," said James shaking his head.  
  
"Neither do I," said Lily.  
  
A/N- Well this is it for a while. I am going on vacation for about two weeks and this might be my last post until I get back. If I can post something worth posting before I leave then I will. I promise to write more in the car rides and stuff so I can post the second I get home. Well until then, leave me a review! 


	31. Them

James opened his eyes in hopes that this horrid nightmare that was becoming his life, would disappear. He looked over at Lily who was sitting in the rocker rocking Rose to sleep. Lily and Rose, along with his other friends, were James' only lights in this hell hole. They were the only ones keeping him going. Lily was, by far, the brightest light out of the rest, even though she too felt his pain. Lily had only known them for a short while, but their absence left a huge hole in her life.  
  
Them.  
  
James couldn't even bring himself to say their names. He had known them his whole entire life. He had grown accustomed to their laughs and smiles, which he would never hear or see again. He would never get a chance to look into their loving eyes or feel their tight embraces.  
  
James couldn't take it anymore, he couldn't hold in these tears forever.  
  
Lily looked up as Rose drifted off to sleep and she saw a tear roll down James' cheek. She put Rose into her crib and walked over to James who was sitting on the floor in the corner. Another tear escaped his eye as she sat next to him. Lily didn't say a word as James didn't like to talk about it. Even if he didn't mind talking about it, Lily still wouldn't have said anything. The grief was still too near. She had never gone through what James was going through, even though she had lost them too. So they just sat there side by side, shoulder by shoulder.  
  
"Sometimes I just can't believe it," James said softly.  
  
Lily turned her head and looked at James. He wasn't crying anymore. "Neither can I," said Lily.  
  
"Sometimes I don't want to believe it," said James, burring his face into his hands.  
  
"No one wants to believe it," said Lily.  
  
"How can life be going so great one day, but so terrible the next day," James wondered out loud.  
  
Lily shrugged her shoulders not knowing what to say.  
  
"One day I was hugging them and the next day the front page of the Daily Prophet is reporting their deaths," said James.  
  
"Sometimes," Lily started, "sometimes life is like that. It changes course when you least expect it to."  
  
James yawned. "I'm going to bed," he said.  
  
"I'll be there in a bit. I have to lock up the house first," said Lily as she walked out of the nursery.  
  
Every since the day that they died Lily had been sure to lock up each door and window before bed or before they would go anywhere. It was a tedious task, but if it meant they would be safe, she would do it.  
  
The house was silent and cold. It had always been that way since they died. Lily quickly locked the windows and doors, wishing that she had worn socks or slippers. She practically ran up the stairs and into her bedroom. "Lily, what's wrong?" James asked as she came into the room.  
  
"It was just cold downstairs, that's all," she replied as she slipped into bed.  
  
James rolled over in bed to face Lily. Her green eyes stared into his hazel ones, looking into his soul as he looked into hers. Every time he looked into those eyes he fell in love with her all over again, just like he had the day he met her. They formed a connection that could not be broken easily. James could feel love, sadness, and care radiating between their eyes.  
  
James smiled. Lily laughed. "It's been a while since I've seen your smile," she said.  
  
"There hasn't been a whole lot to smile about lately," James said.  
  
"Well what's the reason for this smile?" Lily asked, propping her head up on her hand.  
  
James sighed. "You make me happy," he said, putting an arm around her.  
  
Lily laughed and moved closer to him. "You make me happy too," she replied.  
  
"Sometimes I wish we were back at Hogwarts," sighed James.  
  
"Why is that?" Lily asked.  
  
"Life was so much simpler," said James.  
  
"I guess exams are easier than raising a child," Lily laughed, "Although I'd rather raise a child than take exams."  
  
"We had the whole Head Dorm to ourselves," said James.  
  
Lily looked at him blankly. "We have a whole house now."  
  
"Our whole past is in that dorm," said James, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"What do you mean?" asked Lily.  
  
James laughed. "We had our first kiss right inside of the portrait hole."  
  
"And..." Lily said, wanting him to continue.  
  
"We made out for the first time on that comfy red couch."  
  
Lily blushed.  
  
"We spent our first night together in my dorm."  
  
"And McGonigal caught us kissing by the fire place once!" laughed Lily.  
  
James shuddered. "I will never forgive her for breaking us apart. That was possibly the best moment at Hogwarts."  
  
Lily laughed again. "I will never for get her face when she saw us!"  
  
"She looked like she was going to explode!" said James.  
  
"I guess we did leave some of our past in the Head Dorms," Lily sighed.  
  
"Yeah, I wish I could go back and escape from reality," said James.  
  
Lily curled up into him. "We can't run from everything," she whispered.  
  
James sighed. He knew she was right, but that didn't change his mind. "If only there was some way to go back in time and save them."  
  
It was possible, Lily knew it, but very dangerous. "James, there is no safe way to do that and you know it," she said.  
  
"I know, but I just want them back."  
  
"Some things happen for a reason," said Lily.  
  
"I guess, but why couldn't it have been someone else?" James whined.  
  
"I don't know," said Lily.  
  
"They were so nice and loving. They didn't deserve to die," said James.  
  
"No one deserves to meet the end that they did," said Lily moving closer to him.  
  
James hugged Lily tighter and closed his eyes to go to sleep. Sleep was hard to come by these days for James, but somehow he managed to catch some. It was amazing, he thought . After he had first heard that they were dead, he didn't think that he would get sleep ever again. Their loving words would continuously echo through his head and their faces would appear when he closed his eyes.  
  
Happiness had become a foreign feeling to James over the past few days and he feared that he would never feel it again. All of the happy times that he had shared with them would flood his mind and instead of making him feel happy, they made him feel sad and sick because he knew he wouldn't be able to share any happy memories with them again.  
  
But, what do you expect to feel after you lose your parents.  
  
A/N- YAY! I was able to post one more chapter before I leave for vacation! Well, I'll write while I'm gone and post when I get back! So I hope you enjoyed the chapter!! 


	32. Hard Good byes

James forced himself to look away from his pale faced parents. He walked away from their caskets looking for somewhere he could be alone for a while. A rush of November air hit him as he pushed open the double glass doors and walked out of the funeral parlor. It was cold, but James was alone and that was all he needed.  
  
James looked in through the window and saw Lily holding Rose in the middle of the room, obviously looking for him. For the first time in his life, James found he didn't care. Let her look for him, if she was smart she'd know where to look next. He needed to get away from everything and everyone. He needed to disappear. He needed to fall asleep and wake up back at Hogwarts where life was happy and simple.  
  
There was a tap on the window that James was absentmindedly staring into. Lily had found him. Her cheeks were stained with shed tears and her eyes were glistening with unshed tears.  
  
Courage. A word that was once described to James by his father. James would remember his words forever: "Courage is not the absence of fear, it is recognizing that there are more important things than being afraid."  
  
Lily, to some extent, was showing courage in their present situation. She offered fake smiles when James needed them and knew exactly what to say and when to say it. She kept her feelings inside and didn't let them get in the way of her everyday activities. James wished he was strong enough to shake off the feeling of looming depression and feel happy again.  
  
James offered Lily a fake smile and motioned for her to join him outside. She smiled back and walked away from the window. James sighed and leaned against the glass as he waited for Lily and Rose to join him. It was cold and James could see his breath condensing in the air. He wouldn't have been surprised if there was a demetor hovering over his shoulder. There were no happy feelings left in his mind.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Lily worked her way through the parlor and grabbed her jacket to wrap around Rose. She opened the door and shivered as the November breeze touched her face. She looked down at Rose and found she was still sleeping. Lily's heart fell as she saw Rose's sleeping face. She would have no memory of her grandparents that loved her to pieces. They had lived with her for four months and were with her when she needed them. Now, they were gone from her life.  
  
Lily found James sitting under the window sill with his hands over his face. She sat next to him on the cold stones and leaned against the brick building. "Rose still sleeping?" James asked as he looked at Lily.  
  
She nodded and held Rose out for James to hold. He smiled at his sleeping daughter and touched her cheek lovingly. "It just breaks my heart sometimes," said James.  
  
Lily looked up from the dead leaf that she was picking apart and studied her husband's face. "What breaks your heart?" she asked after a minute.  
  
"Knowing that Rose won't remember her grandparents when she gets older," replied James.  
  
Lily sighed and looked down at Rose. "You never know, she might be able to recollect something about them," she said softly.  
  
"But she'll never be able to hug them or get pampered by them at Christmas time," James said after kissing Rose's forehead.  
  
Lily sat in silence next to James and Rose as she watched the clouds roll by in the sky above. The world was passing slowly by, and yet for Lily, time was standing still, leaving them stuck in their despair and heartbreak. Rose was sleeping and probably unaware that her grandparents wouldn't be waiting for them at the house, ready to open the door and shower her with kisses.  
  
James looked over at the glass doors to the parlor. He had to go back in sometime, he knew it, he just didn't want to say good bye to his parents. The mere thought was depressing and unbelievable to James, but he had to do it sometime. He would regret it forever if he didn't.  
  
James shook himself away from his thoughts and found that he was standing in front of the glass doors, reaching out for the handle. "James, you have to do it sooner or later," said Lily as she reached out for Rose.  
  
James shook his head and held on tighter to Rose. There was no way that he was going to be able to do this alone. And besides, Rose still had to say her good byes too.  
  
Once again he found himself looking at his parent's pale faces with tears stinging his eyes. He held up Rose, who was now awake, and began talking to her softly. "Remember them Rose? They were- are your grandparents," James broke off, not knowing what to say.  
  
Rose began to squirm in his grasp. James knew he didn't have much time until she would start fussing. "Mom, dad, Rose and I wanted to say good bye and thanks for everything," said James.  
  
A tear fell from his eye. James caught it in the palm of his hand and looked at it for a minute before tipping his hand over his mother's face and watched as it fell onto her forehead.  
  
He stared at her young face. She was too young to meet the end that she had. It pained James to think that he was never to see a smile on her face again or see her face light up when she laughed. The smell of her perfume when he used to curl up with her at night when he was younger and the smell of her hair after a day of working in the garden were two things he would never forget about her. James had always counted on her being there forever and it pained him to think of the times he took her for granted.  
  
James' eyes moved to his father's face. He was holding a plaque from the Ministry of Magic thanking him for his services. James knew that if his father had been given that when he was still living he would have refused it telling the Ministry that it was the least he could do.  
  
His father was always so modest and helped everyone that needed his help, even the muggles in the neighborhood. He was always there for James when he was having problems, although he rarely gave and good advice, he was a great listener. James would never forget the look on his father's face when he told him that he liked a girl.  
  
Lily was his first serious crush and James could remember pointing her out to his father when he was getting off the Hogwarts Express at the end of his first year. He spent many hours talking about Lily to his father that summer. It was over that summer that his father advised him to ask her out. It was probably one of the best pieces of advice James had ever received from his father.  
  
Mr. Potter always found some way to attend James' Quidditch matches at Hogwarts. James was always thankful for that. He liked being able to look out into the stands and see his father's smiling face, although he was usually too busy trying to show off to Lily. He always played better when his father was present and cheering him on. The only game that James lost was in his forth year when his father was visiting his dying grandmother and was unable to attend the match. Unfortunately, that match had cost Gryffindor the Quidditch Cup and, according to Professor McGonigal, it had also cost him the nice, silver, shiny, Prefect badge.  
  
James heard soft footsteps approaching him from behind. He didn't bother to even turn around, he knew who it was. Sure enough, seconds later he felt Lily's head on his shoulder, one hand around his waist and the other one on Rose's hand. "Are you ready to go Lily?" James asked.  
  
Lily looked up at him. He had puffy red eyes and wet trails down his cheeks. "Take your time James. Whenever you're ready," she said.  
  
James sighed and looked at his parents. "I'll never be able to go, knowing that I'll never see them again," said James as he felt tears well up in his eyes.  
  
Lily squeezed his shoulder and kissed his cheek lightly. "They'll always be with you James," she said just above a whisper.  
  
"I know," was all James could say.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"You have definitely out done yourself this time Peter."  
  
"Thank you my lord. I am sorry that it took me so long."  
  
"This makes our beloved Potter family weak and unsuspecting. They will never see the next one coming."  
  
Peter gulped. "You mean I have to cause them even more grief?"  
  
"Crucio!"  
  
Peter fell to the floor withering and tossing, like a child unable to awake from a night mare. He was in terrible pain and shock. Finally the curse wore off and he was able to stand on his feet again.  
  
"Peter, don't make me remind you where your loyalties must now lie. You have a job to finish. I need that little girl out of this world, she is threatening my existence."  
  
"Y-yes my lord," Peter stuttered.  
  
"Finish the job and make sure the Potters are completely unaware of what is going on."  
  
Peter nodded before stumbling out of the dark living room. What had he gotten himself into?  
  
A/N- Well I am back from my little vacation and I am very proud to say that I have also completed chapter 33 while I was away. Chapter 33 will be posted as soon as I get around to typing it. I hope you are all enjoying your summer!! 


	33. The Big 2 0

"Say happy birthday to daddy Rose!" Lily said as James walked into the kitchen while ruffling his hair.  
  
James shook his head as he looked around the kitchen which was decorated with balloons and banners. He looked at the table and saw a cake sitting in the middle along with his breakfast. He laughed as Lily stood up and kissed him. "So how does it feel being the big two zero?" she laughed.  
  
James sighed. "Not as bad as I thought it would feel," he said.  
  
"Come on and eat!" said Lily cheerfully.  
  
It had been two weeks since his parents had passed away. Lily wanted to make sure that he had a spectacular birthday that wasn't spent in front of a box of tissues and a garbage can. She owed him a special day after everything that he had set up for her.  
  
February 14th- Valentines Day- Romantic lunch and stroll in Hogsmead followed by a very thoughtful and romantic dinner in the Shrieking shack.  
  
May 18th- Lily's birthday- Another romantic lunch in Hogsmead ending in a surprise party and baby shower.  
  
June 25th- One year anniversary- Romantic picnic in the back yard ending in an evening of watching the stars.  
  
She had a lot of work to do to make his birthday special. The only problem was Lily didn't have any ideas. Planning parties wasn't one of her talents. She sighed and began to clear the breakfast dishes from the table. Maybe she would just ask James what he wanted to do.  
  
"Come on Rose! Let's get daddy's presents!" Lily said as she picked up Rose and left the kitchen.  
  
"I'll be in the living room," said James as Lily walked out.  
  
Lily went to the nursery and pulled open the closet. "Which corner did I put them in?" she wondered aloud.  
  
She shrugged and looked into the left corner. After a few seconds she pulled out a big red bag. It wasn't what Lily remembered wrapping her present in. she opened up the matching red gift tag and groaned. It was from James' parents. Lily remembered them being gone for a whole day looking for the perfect present. And now they would never see his reaction when he opened it.  
  
Lily dug up the two presents from her and Rose, all the time debating on whether or not to give James the present from his parents today. She knew he would have to get it sometime, but she didn't know when. Part of her was tempted to burry it in the closet and not take the chance of it ruining his day, but another part of her felt that James would be glad to have the present from his parents.  
  
She moved to put the gift back in the closet when she paused again. It wasn't her choice to decide whether or not James should receive the gift or not. It was his decision. Lily sighed and waved her wand at all three gifts so they would follow her down the stairs.  
  
It didn't feel like his birthday at all. James usually looked forward to his birthdays, just like anyone else. This year, he had woken up a whole year older and found that he could care less. His birthday would never be the same without his parents and their wacky traditions.  
  
James looked up from the coffee table when Lily came into the room with his presents floating in after her. She smiled at him and he smiled back as she placed Rose into her bouncing chair and sat down by his side.  
  
Lily began pulling the presents out of the air and placed them in James' lap. "One from me and one from Rose," she said.  
  
There was still a red bag floating in the air, but James didn't have to ask about it. "And one from my parents I am guessing," he sighed as Lily handed him the bag.  
  
"How could you tell?" she asked.  
  
"My parents always wrapped my birthday gift in the same red bag," James said.  
  
"I found it in the closet. I didn't know if you would want to open it or not, so I brought it down just in case," smiled Lily.  
  
James sighed and looked at the bag. Did he want to open it? His father had always made him wait until his mother got home from work to open his present. His mother always loved to see the look on his face when he opened his gift. This year she wouldn't get to see his face when he tore off the tissue paper and opened the bag.  
  
If he opened the bag.  
  
James pushed the bag aside and started to open the gift from Rose. He slowly picked at the curly gold ribbon and eventually he began tearing at the red paper revealing a brown box. "A box, just what I have always wanted! Thanks Rose!" James said sarcastically, just like his father had always done. James could always remember replying, "Daddy, the present is in the box!" when he was younger.  
  
Lily laughed as James tore open the box. "Rose, did you make this all by yourself?" he asked as he pulled out a frame decorated with moving snitches.  
  
Inside of the frame was a cross stitched picture of James, Lily, and Rose on a broom soaring through the sky. James had his arms wound around Lily who was leaning back into him with her arms holding onto Rose. "Yes, all by herself with some help from mommy," said Lily.  
  
James studied the picture some more before asking, "How do you have so much time on your hands?"  
  
Lily laughed. "Well while their children are sleeping, most mothers tidy up the house or do some cooking. Since I can do all of that with the aid of magic, I do something that I enjoy while my child is sleeping," she said.  
  
"I love it," said James leaning in to kiss Lily.  
  
Lily giggled. "Really?" she teased.  
  
"Really," said James, kissing her again.  
  
"How much do you love it?" she asked, trying to keep from laughing.  
  
"Enough to hang it up as soon as I find the perfect spot," said James.  
  
"We'll look for that perfect spot to hang it late, but right now you have to open the present from me!" laughed Lily as she pushed another red box with god ribbon into his hands.  
  
James once again slowly pulled off the gold ribbon and tore off the red paper to reveal another box. It wasn't like the other box though. Instead of being plain brown it was black and had gold lettering on it. He recognized it immediately to be one of the gift boxes from the Quidditch store in Hogsmead. James looked up at Lily who motioned from him to open the box.  
  
He opened the box, wondering what Lily could have gotten him from a Quidditch store. It wasn't big enough to be a broom, and not small enough to be the latest broom compass. The box was about a half an arm long and as wide as a Kleenex box.  
  
James slowly lifted off the top and found a sea of white and black tissue paper. He slowly unfolded the tissue paper and found a pair of wrist guards in the box. "They're the same ones that you were looking at on my birthday," said Lily.  
  
"The ones that are attracted to the rider's broomstick?" James asked in disbelief.  
  
"Yes, I went back and got them about a month and a half ago," she said feeling proud of herself.  
  
"They were so expensive though," said James.  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. "James, you're a professional Quidditch player for the Chudley Cannons!" she said.  
  
James laughed. "Yeah, I am, aren't I?"  
  
"So are you going to try them out?" asked Lily, already knowing the answer.  
  
"Of course!" said James.  
  
Lily laughed. "I knew you'd like them," she said smiling.  
  
James took the wrist guards out of the box and turned them over in his hands. "These are also the gloves that fit to your hands perfectly no matter what shape or size, right?" James asked as a grin appeared on his face.  
  
"Yes, what are you thinking about James?" Lily asked as she saw his grin grow wider.  
  
James put on his angelic face and smiled. "I was thinking that we could go for a little broom ride, all of us."  
  
"Oh James, Rose isn't old enough to fly yet. What if she slips?" said Lily looking worried.  
  
"Well if she wears the wrist guards she wouldn't fall and we wouldn't go up that high to begin with," James pleaded.  
  
Lily looked at Rose. "I don't know James, it could still be dangerous."  
  
"Remember when I took you for a broom ride," said James.  
  
"Yes James, but I was seventeen, not four months old," said Lily.  
  
"You were so scared that I was going to let you fall..." James paused. "But you know that I would never let you fall, not would I let Rose fall."  
  
Lily sighed and looked down at Rose. "Well I guess we could go for a short ride, as long as we don't go too fast or too slow and you test out the wrist guards first to make sure they work," said Lily.  
  
"Fair enough," said James, strapping the wrist guards on. "So how am I supposed to try these suckers out?" he asked when he was done putting them on.  
  
Lily shrugged. "Try to jump off of your broom," she laughed.  
  
James considered this and shrugged. "That could work," he said as he got off of the couch and began to leave the room.  
  
"Wait! What about the present..." Lily said before thinking.  
  
James turned around and looked at the red bag. He had always been eager to open the red bag on his birthday when he was younger, but now it didn't feel right to open it when his parents weren't there. Maybe he would just open it later, after the broom ride.  
  
"Come on Lily, let's go outside for that ride," said James, forcing a smile.  
  
"Alright, you try out the wrist guards. I'll be out as soon as I get Rose's jacket," said Lily.  
  
James laughed. "She'll need a lot more that just a jacket Lils," he said.  
  
"I suppose you're right, it is a bit chilly out there," said Lily as she grabbed Rose.  
  
"Ready for your first broom ride?" James heard Lily ask Rose as he walked up the stairs to retrieve his broom.  
  
"So how do they work?" asked Lily as she watched him soaring above her in the sky.  
  
"They work excellent!" James said as he landed on the ground next to Lily and Rose.  
  
He slipped off the guards and placed them onto Rose's wrists as Lily held Rose steady. "All ready?" asked James, smiling.  
  
"As ready as I'll ever be," Lily said looking down at Rose. "How about you Rose? Are you ready?"  
  
James looked down at Rose. "I think she is ready," he said as he kissed the top of her red head.  
  
A/N- A little bit of a less depressing chapter, it's about time! More twists and turns leading to dark tunnels ahead, although some of you may have been able to pick up on the few hints that I have been leaving, so you'll have a flashlight with low batteries while going through these tunnels. Well more later, this was the last chapter I had written from my vacation. 


	34. Visit From a Boy

James could see her red hair was thrashing in the wind as she soared above the Quidditch pitch with her hand over her hazel eyes which were desperately seeking the snitch. He admired the way she soared in the sky, even better than he had. He looked over at Lily who was sitting next to him in the stands, cheering their daughter on. Their team was winning 300 to zip and they were definitely going to win the cup.  
  
The announcer's voice rang out announcing that their team had scored again. It was the perfect match. No one was making any flaws in their playing, except for the opposing team obviously. The bludgers were little black smears in the sky, whipping by so fast you could hardly tell they were there. The quaffle was never dropped and never intercepted by the other team. In fact, James never saw the other team grab a hold of it once.  
  
Then it started turning around.  
  
All of a sudden a loud cheer rang out from the opposite end of the field. The opposing team had scored. James looked frantically at the field trying to find where their team's keeper was. Then he saw him, falling from the goal posts towards the ground. James started shouting for someone to catch the falling keeper. The announcer's voice rang again announcing the score to be 300 to 250 in favor of their team. How could the opposing team have gotten so many points in so little time?  
  
The opposing team's chasers were flying down the field tossing the quaffle between them getting ready to score again. James stood up and started screaming for someone to cover the goal. Rose zoomed over to the hoops just in time to stop the quaffle from getting through the hoop. He saw her call for a time out and give out new assignments for her team. She pulled a chaser into the keeper position and also stationed a beater to guard the outside of scoring area.  
  
The game resumed and things were going alright. That is when it happened. Rose paused in the air and waved to James. James waved back. She smiled at him for a split second and James saw the smile fade from her face. He just stared at her, trying to ask what was wrong. Lily started screaming and the crowds stood up, blocking James' view of the field.  
  
He stood up and tried to push the people out of his way, but he kept being pushed down by Hagrid who was telling him, "You don't want to see this Mr. Potter."  
  
James kept trying to ask Lily what was happening, but she wouldn't answer. He asked everyone he could and no one was answering him. James found himself shouting and shouting, telling people to move out of his way.  
  
After about five minutes of struggling and screaming the crowds parted. Fog was now thick in the air and James was running through it like a mad man. He would fall occasionally, but he could see a person standing in front of him. It was Sirius, just laughing at him, laughing and laughing. James shot a spell at him and Sirius yelled, "Come on! Is that the best you've got?"  
  
James hit him again with another spell and Sirius fell backwards with a look of mild shock on his face although the laughter never left his eyes. He fell back through a sheet of thick fog and disappeared. James ran to find his friend and found that he wasn't there. He started calling for him over and over when Remus came into view. James called out for his friend. "SIRIUS! SIRIUS!"  
  
"There is nothing that you can do, James," Remus said calmly.  
  
"I could go find him! I need to find him! He only just disappeared!" James protested.  
  
"It is too late, James," said Remus.  
  
"I can still get him!" said James angrily.  
  
"There is nothing you can do, James, he is gone," said Remus slowly, letting every word sink in.  
  
"He hasn't gone!" James yelled.  
  
"SIRIUS! SIRIUS!" James bellowed into the mist and fog.  
  
"He can't come back because he is dead," said Remus.  
  
"HE IS NOT DEAD!" James yelled. "SIRIUS!"  
  
"He is dead, there is nothing you can do, James." With that being said Remus disappeared into the fog as well.  
  
James began to cry when he saw a limp figure lying on the ground a few yards ahead. 'Rose,' he thought. 'I am too late!'  
  
He started running and fell. James couldn't bring himself back to his feet. He began crawling towards his daughter's body. He saw the ground ahead looking rugged with orange balls of different sized popping up around him. A black cat jumped out in front of him and looked at him innocently before moving on. A bat flew by his head and James took cover behind one of the orange balls which he confirmed to be pumpkins.  
  
He finally reached it and found that it was Lily, not Rose. She was lying on her back with her red hair framing her face. "I tried James, I really tried."  
  
"Tried what?" asked James watching his wife's chest move up and down in irregular rhythms.  
  
"He got Harry," she gasped.  
  
"Who's Harry?" James asked.  
  
"How can you not know?" she gasped.  
  
"Who is he?"  
  
"He's your..." Lily's eyes fluttered shut as she took in her last breath.  
  
"Who! Who is he?" was all James could say as he sat by his lifeless wife's side crying in frustration and anger.  
  
Lily's body faded away into the grass below him, leaving James pulling at the grass, trying to find his beloved wife. He sat there motionless for a moment after he realized he wasn't going to be able to reach her. Rose's image came back to him.  
  
He stood on his feet and fell back to the ground, landing on his back. James was forced to look up into the pink sky that was floating above him. He saw a girl smiling at him on a broom from above, but she wasn't alone. A boy was with her, a boy that James could have sworn was a younger version of himself. Rose smiled and pointed to the boy. James was trying to ask who he was and what he was doing up there with her, he couldn't remember him being on the team.  
  
Rose smiled at him again and the words 'I love you daddy,' met his ears. James smiled and tried to find his voice to reply to his daughter. He opened his mouth and nothing came out but air.  
  
He saw the smile fade from Rose's face and tears begin to pour down her face. James felt her tears hit his face like the falling rain. 'I knew you didn't care daddy! You're never home for me!" she cried.  
  
James tried to respond, but he couldn't. Rose cried harder and the boy with messy black hair and green eyes floated over to her. He looked badly burned on his right shoulder, there was blood staining his robes, and James could have sworn he had seen a lightning bolt shaped scar in the middle of his forehead. The boy comforted Rose until she stopped crying. She looked back down at James with slight anger in her puffy eyes.  
  
Some invisible force pulled James to his feet. He reached out to his daughter who was still in the arms of the boy. She began crying again and said, "I am sorry daddy."  
  
A gust of black air blew in, covering Rose and the boy. James could no longer see either of them through the pitch black air. James heard Rose scream. All he could do now was wait for the fog to clear an hope for the best. Who was he kidding? He knew she was gone. He knew he wouldn't ever be able to tell her that he loved her. He was all alone in the world. His best friend had past into a thick layer of fog and his angel faded into the grass. Now his daughter had to die in the arms of a boy that James didn't know. She should have died in his arms, the arms of her loving father.  
  
He was all alone in the world and found himself wishing that it would all end. The sky was turning orange now, the pink disappearing into the west. The black puff of air began to turn gray and James could make out a limp figure hanging off the side of a broomstick and another figure barely holding on. He prayed with all of his might that his Rose was the figure that was still holding on and the boy had died instead of her.  
  
The limp figure fell from the ground and James closed his eyes as it landed in his arms. He held them closed for a moment, not daring to look at which had fallen from the sky. James knew he had to open his eyes sometime and face reality, no matter how horrible it would be. He opened his eyes and saw a glimpse of red hair before he shut his eyes again and began to scream. James dropped to his knees, still holding his daughter. Now he was all alone, no one was there for him. The world of so many people had abandoned him not caring about what he was going through.  
  
He was afraid to lay Rose onto the ground, fearing that she would fall through like her mother. James felt the air becoming cold around him. He opened his eyes and looked up at the sky. It was now green, the exact shade of green that the little boy's eyes had been, the same shade that Lily's had been as well. A bolt of lightning flashed in the sky and James felt Rose's body disappear in his arms.  
  
James looked around as his tears began to hit the ground. Then he realized that Rose hadn't disappeared from his arms, he had disappeared from her. He was being sucked up to the sky looking down at his daughter who was lying below. James saw her twitch. She was still alive. James began to cry harder. Now she was the one who was alone in the world without anyone to care for her.  
  
He watched as a tall man covered in a black robe walked over to her. He picked her up in his arms and walked away with her. James began to yell at the man, telling him to leave her alone. The man couldn't hear him and kept on walking with the last of the Potters.  
  
Suddenly the invisible force that was holding James in the air broke and he was sent falling to the ground. He could distantly hear someone frantically calling his name. "James! James!"  
  
He wasn't alone, someone was looking for him. Someone cared for him.  
  
"James!"  
  
His eyes snapped open and he saw Lily hovering over him. "Thank goodness you're okay," she gasped.  
  
"What happened?" James asked as he slowly sat up.  
  
"You were yelling, and tossing in your sleep. I was worried about you," said Lily.  
  
James let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness it was just a dream!" he said, breathing hard.  
  
"Yes," said Lily.  
  
"Where is Rose?" he asked fearfully.  
  
"She is sleeping. She was really tired after the broom ride," said Lily.  
  
James sighed in relief again. "Do you think she enjoyed it?" he asked, trying to keep his mind occupied.  
  
Lily nodded. "What were you dreaming about anyway?" she asked.  
  
"Nothing, I'll tell you later," said James.  
  
Lily shook her head. "No James, tell me now," she said firmly.  
  
James sighed and gave in, telling her every little detail. Lily stayed alert and motioned for him to go on when he would get caught up. She listened to the whole dream and found herself worried and confused.  
  
"What do you think it means James?" she asked him.  
  
"That is what I was going to ask you," James replied.  
  
Lily sighed. "I don't know James," she said.  
  
"Maybe it was just a dream," he said.  
  
"Yeah maybe," Lily said worriedly.  
  
"Just some crazy dream, I mean I can explain it. I was dreaming of Quidditch because I took Rose for a broom ride. I dreamed of everyone dying because of my parents. I dreamed of that black smoke because it started raining at the end of the broom ride," said James as if that solved everything.  
  
"What about the boy James?" Lily asked.  
  
James shook his head. "It might have been me when I was younger," he shrugged.  
  
"I thought you said he had green eyes," Lily said.  
  
"I don't know what to think of him then," said James.  
  
"I do," Lily said.  
  
"What?" asked James.  
  
"I- I have seen him too James," Lily said looking down at the bed.  
  
"What?" James asked again.  
  
"I have seen the boy twice in the past year in my dreams. He has messy black hair, glasses framing his green eyes, a lightning bolt scar on his forehead, he was tall and thin... at first I thought he was you too," said Lily.  
  
"How come you haven't mentioned him before?" asked James.  
  
"I didn't think he was important," said Lily.  
  
"Neither did I, but we both saw him," said James as he leaned back into his pillows.  
  
They sat in the dark together as their thoughts ran wild in the silence. Who was the boy? Why did they both see him?  
  
"James?" Lily's voice said after a few minutes.  
  
"What?" James asked, staring up at the ceiling.  
  
"Do you think that that little boy could be..." she stopped.  
  
"Could be what?" James asked.  
  
"Do you think that he could be our..." she stopped again.  
  
"Our what?" James asked.  
  
"Son," Lily finished softly.  
  
James sat for a moment as her words sank in. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Think for a minute James!" Lily said, feeling her eyes filling with tears for some reason she couldn't fathom.  
  
"I am thinking!"  
  
"He had green eyes, I have green eyes," said Lily.  
  
"So does your friend Gloria!"  
  
Lily ignored him. "He had your messy black hair."  
  
"Sirius has messy black hair!"  
  
"Don't you see it James!" Lily cried. "He has both of our features!"  
  
"It doesn't mean that he is out son!" James protested.  
  
"So we both saw him in a coincidence?" Lily said at tears rolled down her cheeks.  
  
James sat in the silence, basking in his thoughts. "I don't know what to think about him right now. How could we see our son before he is born?"  
  
"I don't know James!" Lily cried.  
  
"It was just a dream," James said as he rolled over to go to sleep.  
  
The boy's image floated into his head again. He was smiling, and yet there was sadness in his eyes. James looked into his eyes and saw images flashing in them that he couldn't make out. Most of them were of people. There was a flash of green light and James bolted straight up in bed breathing hard.  
  
He looked over at Lily and found that she was sleeping. James settled back down to sleep, trying to forget the little boy. It was impossible. It was like the boy was trying to tell him something. The boy refused to leave him alone. James kept looking into his eyes and seeing flashes of his memory.  
  
He saw a boy with red hair and freckles and a girl with bushy brown hair. He saw the golden snitch fluttering and a dragon surrounded by eggs. He saw a blood red stone and a man with two faces. He saw a giant snake and a girl lying by a diary in a dark wet place. He saw a broom which he had never seen before. He saw a porky child sneering and throwing a fist into the air. He saw a letters with green writing on them falling from the ceiling. He saw a pair of red slits which resembled eyes. He saw a graveyard and a dead boy. He saw a strange web that was formed by two wands. He saw a castle and a scary looking horse. He saw a mirror and a girl with raven black hair crying and moving closer and closer. He saw a glittering coming from a thousand crystal orbs. He saw a creature wearing a mask drawing in rattling breaths. He saw a hippogriff carrying a man out into the moonlight.  
  
The flash of green light returned and the boy's face was taken by the feeling of anger and sadness. That flash of green light had been important to this boy. James didn't know what it meant, but he knew the boy was deeply troubled by it. His heart went out to the boy who looked all alone. James suddenly hoped that Lily was right. He hoped that this was his child. He hoped that he could restore hope and happiness to the boy. He hoped that this would someday be his son.  
  
A/N- There are many hidden meanings in this chapter. After all that is needed to be posted is posted, I will post those hidden meanings. But before I do that I am going to have a little contest to see who can pick out the most hidden meanings. The winner will get a walk in kind of part in the story, in which they get to pick the name, role, and destiny of their character. More on the contest later. Till the next chapter then!! 


	35. Attachment Phase

"Rose....shhhh....go to sleep baby..." Lily said as she bounced Rose in her arms.  
  
James entered the room. "She still hasn't gone down for her nap yet?" he asked.  
  
"What do you think James?" Lily snapped rather harshly.  
  
"Alright, sorry," he said.  
  
"No James, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled like that," said Lily looking at Rose.  
  
"I understand," said James.  
  
"It's just that Rose hasn't taken a nap or slept regularly at night for the past three days James and I don't know what to do!" Lily sobbed at tears welled up in her eyes.  
  
"Lily, don't cry!" James moaned. That was the last thing he needed. He hated seeing Lily upset.  
  
"I am so tired and I only have a day left to wrap everyone's gifts for Christmas," Lily sobbed as she sat on the couch.  
  
"I can wrap the gifts, I have nothing better to do," he said.  
  
"Rose better sleep tonight, it is her first Christmas tomorrow after all," Lily sobbed.  
  
"Lily, don't worry, we will all have a great time," James said rubbing her shoulders.  
  
"I am just so tired! I don't see how I can keep moving like this!" she said.  
  
"I know..."  
  
"WHY WON'T SHE GO TO SLEEP?!?!?!?!" Lily sobbed.  
  
"Lily..."  
  
"I want her to sleep for me! Just this once!" she cried.  
  
"Lily she..."  
  
"I need my time to sleep!"  
  
"Lily she is sleeping!" James said.  
  
Lily looked down and laughed at herself. "See? I am too tired."  
  
"And that is why you are going to put Rose in her crib and take a nap while I wrap the gifts," said James, coaxing Lily off of the couch.  
  
"Be careful while you are wrapping them!" she warned softly.  
  
"I am using the spell that my mother taught me last Christmas," James said forcing a smile.  
  
Lily nodded. "Speaking of your mother, James, you should really open that gift," she said softly.  
  
James nodded. "I know, I'm just not ready to open it yet," he said forcing another smile.  
  
"Right, so I am going to put Rose down to sleep," Lily said as she walked up the stairs.  
  
James sighed, ruffled his hair, and went up the stairs to retrieve the presents from the closet. He pulled out the big bag and had them magically follow him to the living room, pausing briefly to get the red wrapping paper out of the coat closet. He sprawled himself out on the floor and grabbed the first gift out of the bag, wrapped it, and stuck a gift tag on it which magically filled itself out. Thank goodness for simple holiday spells.  
  
Lily strolled down the stairs a few minutes later and smiled at James. "How are you doing with the gifts?" she asked, yawning.  
  
"Good. What are you doing downstairs?" asked James.  
  
"Starting lunch, why?" asked Lily, yawning again.  
  
"Go to sleep, I'll take care of lunch and bring it up to you when you are ready," James offered.  
  
"James..." Lily started.  
  
"Go upstairs and I'll take care of it!" James said, more firmly this time.  
  
"Well alright, only if you're sure," yawned Lily.  
  
"I am positively sure," James smiled.  
  
Lily smiled back in relief and walked back upstairs to sleep. James continued wrapping presents and noticed that not only did the present tags fill themselves out, they sorted themselves into piles according to family which was a great help. There was a present for Lily's parents and Petunia and her husband, which only contained on very small package. There was even a small pile for his parents which he and Lily had bought before they had passed away. He had no idea what he was going to do with those yet. James also noticed that the only presents in the pile for their household were for Rose, but of course James had suspected this. Their bedroom closet was the designated place for presents, but Lily and James were both smart enough to hide the presents for each other in a special spot of their own.  
  
James couldn't wait to see Lily's face when she opened her present this year, she was going to love it even more than the heart pendant that she wore every day. He had even gotten something for her from Rose, which she would love as well.  
  
Rose started screaming again in her room and James bolted up to get her. Lily was already walking down the hallway when he was up the stairs. "Go back to sleep, I'll get her," said James, rubbing Lily's shoulders.  
  
"No, I have slept enough," Lily yawned.  
  
James looked at the clock in the hallway. "You have only been sleeping for a half an hour," he said leading her towards their room.  
  
"James..."  
  
"I'll get her, I just finished the gifts. She can help me with lunch," he smiled.  
  
"James..." James closed the door in her face and heard her laugh behind it.  
  
He walked down the hall to the nursery and opened the door to see Rose looking through the bars of her crib, looking positively frightened. James picked her up and noticed that she was shaking. "Rose, what is wrong?" he asked her softly as he took her out of the room.  
  
She clung to his shoulder tightly and buried her little head into his neck. James patted her back to calm her down and pretty soon her crying subsided and she stopped shaking. He walked into the kitchen with her and tried to place her in her swing, but she clung tighter to him and started to whimper. "What is up with you today?" he asked her.  
  
He kept her on his shoulder as he looked through the pantry and fridge for something to eat. "What should we eat for lunch today?" he asked Rose.  
  
When she didn't answer James closed the fridge and pulled out the pot that his parents had given him for their wedding shower. "Should we let the pot decide?"  
  
James placed the pot on the stove and turned it on. Ingredients immediately began jumping out of the cabinets and fridge and measured themselves before landing in the pot. According to the instructions on the box all he had to do was come back in an hour to see how the meal was coming along. "And to see what we are going to be eating," he laughed.  
  
He walked Rose into the living room and lay on the couch with her. "So Rose, what are we going to do for a whole hour?" James asked her.  
  
She laughed as he lifted her into the air above him. "Like playing air plane do you?" Then a thought jumped into his head. "Hey Rose, how about going for another broom ride?" he asked her.  
  
Rose only giggled in his arms. James got off of the couch and got his broom and new wrist guards from the front closet. He strapped the guards onto Rose's wrists and walked outside with her, after grabbing their coats, hats, and scarves. He mounted the broom with Rose in his arms and flew around the house a few times before he heard Lily's voice calling through the window. "James! What do you think you are doing! She is going to get sick and that is way too high!" Lily shrieked.  
  
James flew over to the open window. "Sorry Lily, Rose and I will be back in a minute. We were only having some father daughter time," said James.  
  
"Well try having some father daughter time doing something a little less dangerous," Lily called as she closed the window and walked back to her warm bed.  
  
James landed on the snow covered ground and walked back inside with Rose. "Come on kiddo, your mother is right, you are going to catch a cold if we stay out here too long," he said.  
  
Rose giggled as they stepped inside. James put away their coats and hats along with the broom and wrist guards. "Let's go and see what we are eating for lunch," James said. "It smells really good," he added.  
  
James and Rose looked into the pot and saw a mountain of squiggly pasta noodles sitting at the bottom. "Sounds good," he said, walking out of the kitchen. "Well we still have about twenty minutes to kill until it will be ready. What do you want to do now Rose?" he asked her.  
  
Rose didn't answer. "How about you finish your nap?" James suggested.  
  
Rose whimpered. "Alright, then lets read the Daily Prophet," he said sitting on the couch and picking up the paper.  
  
He opened it up and Rose giggled again. She lifted her hands out to the paper and crinkled the top left corner in her hand. "Hey! Don't do that to daddy's paper!" James laughed.  
  
Rose giggled at him and continued to rip and tear at the paper. "You aren't making the crossword puzzle any easier for me," he laughed.  
  
Rose just kept giggling and tearing apart the paper. Pretty soon it was in shreds and all of James' hopes of reading it flew out of the window. "Come on, let's check on lunch," said James as he cleared the mess up with his wand.  
  
The pasta was done and James moved to put Rose in her swing. Once again she started to fuss and clung to his shoulder tighter. "What is with you today?" James muttered as he set the table. "You aren't making this easier either," said James.  
  
Rose clung to his shoulder and made the simple task of spooning pasta onto plates a very difficult procedure. "Are you going to let me eat?" asked James, very frustrated.  
  
"I take it Rose has been difficult for you," said Lily as she entered the kitchen.  
  
James looked up and nodded. "She won't let me put her down, not even in the swing," said James as he sat down at the table.  
  
Lily took Rose into her arms and held her for a moment. "Have you been behaving for daddy?" she asked.  
  
Rose just looked up at her. "Playing the silent game are we?" Lily sighed as she tried to set Rose in her swing. Rose slung tight to her mother's shoulder and started to fuss.  
  
"See, she won't let anyone put her down," said James, pulling a seat out for Lily to sit in.  
  
Lily sat down with Rose on her lap and began to eat the pasta that was sitting in front of her. "So did you finish the gift wrapping yet?" asked Lily.  
  
James nodded. "They are in piles in the living room. Those gift tags are really helpful," he said.  
  
"That is why I bought them. Your mother recommended them a while back," Lily said.  
  
"My mother always had good ideas," James sighed. "What are we going to do with the presents for them?" he asked.  
  
"I forgot about those. I don't know what we are going to do with them," said Lily.  
  
James nodded and continued to eat. "James, could you warm up Rose's bottle that is in the fridge? I think she is getting hungry," said Lily.  
  
James leaned back in his chair and reached into the fridge. He used his wand to heat it and passed it across the table to Lily. "She has been acting very strange lately," sighed James as he began to clear the table.  
  
"I have no idea why. I think it might be a phase, like she is afraid that we are going to leave her or something," said Lily, feeding Rose.  
  
"That might be it," said James. "Phases only last a few days, right?"  
  
Lily sighed and shook her head. "In the muggle world this parental attachment phase could last years," she said.  
  
James groaned. "So she is going to be attached to us for a few years?"  
  
Lily nodded. "Possibly," she said.  
  
"How are we going to get Rose to sleep tonight?" asked James.  
  
Lily shrugged. "I don't know."  
  
"Tomorrow is Christmas, I don't want to be tired on Christmas!" groaned James.  
  
"I know, especially since it is her first Christmas," sighed Lily.  
  
Rose just looked up at her and smiled. "She is fine when she is being held by one of us," said James.  
  
"I think that she is going to have to sleep in our bed tonight," said Lily.  
  
"Well as long as we all get sleep," sighed James.  
  
A/N-Sorry about the long wait between posts, a whole week!! Well I will continue with Christmas in the next chapter, this one seems to be long enough for now and I don't want to leave you in suspense at the end of this chapter because I am pretty sure the next chapter will end in suspense. Don't send me the hidden meanings yet, I haven't posted enough for you to get them all. There is a whole segment of my profile/bio that talks about the contest, so take a look at that if you want more information. Till chapter 36 then....leave me a review!


	36. Tell Me What?

"Lily, she keeps kicking me!" James whispered.  
  
"Well at least she is sleeping," sighed Lily.  
  
"I guess you're right. I guess I'll just move over a little bit," sighed James.  
  
"You do that," Lily yawned as she turned over.  
  
Rose squirmed slightly, but stayed asleep, much to James' relief.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Lily looked over at the clock on her dresser. It was eight in the morning and Rose and James were both still sleeping. She smiled as she remembered the previous year's Christmas. James had woken her up at five in the morning by hitting her on the head with a pillow. Her smile grew wider as she grabbed the pillow from behind her head. Lily carefully reached over Rose and hit James on the face with it.  
  
He shot straight up in bed and Lily cupped a hand over his mouth to keep him from screaming. James saw the pillow in her hand and he grabbed his own pillow. It was going to be an exact repeat of last year's Christmas morning.  
  
Lily ran down the stairs, still holding her pillow as James sleepily dashed after her. She ran outside into the snow and tried to hide behind the Christmas tree in their back yard. James saw her take cover behind it and chased after her with his pillow raised over his head. Lily screamed playfully as the pillow hit her head. She had been ready for his attack. She pulled the snow ball out from behind her back and whipped it at James.  
  
James shook the snow out of his hair like a dog as he listened to Lily laughing. He quickly crafted a snow ball and whipped it back at Lily. It was his turn to laugh as she spit snow out of her mouth. She whipped out her wand and pelted him with snowball after snowball. "So we're going to play that was now are we?" laughed James, ducking as more snow balls came his way.  
  
He pulled out his own wand and summoned a mountain of snow to fall on Lily. She screamed and threw her arms over her head. "I surrender!" she cried.  
  
James stopped the snow in mid air. "What did you say?" he teased.  
  
"I said I surrender!" she said again as she looked up cautiously.  
  
James laughed and made the snow disappear. Lily walked over to him, shivering. He threw his arms around her and laughed. "Our neighbors must think we are really strange," he said, leading Lily back inside.  
  
"Yeah, having a snowball fight in our pajamas doesn't really qualify as normal," laughed Lily as she kissed James' cheek.  
  
He stopped her right before they went inside and kissed her lips. "Happy Christmas, Lils," he whispered.  
  
Lily kissed him back. "Happy Christmas to you too, James."  
  
"Come on, we better be getting inside," said James. "I don't want you to get sick."  
  
Lily nodded and opened the front door. "Rose is up," she groaned when she heard the screaming coming from upstairs.  
  
"I'll get her," sighed James. "You go into the living room."  
  
Lily closed the door behind her and walked into the living room, wondering what had gotten into Rose.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"Rose, what is the matter with you?" James asked as he picked her up. "You are shaking again. It's like you are constantly having bad dreams or something," he sighed.  
  
He brought her downstairs and tried to calm her down. "Lily, there is something wrong with her, she was all shaky when I went to get her," said James.  
  
Lily shook her head as she took Rose into her lap. "I have no idea what to say about it," she sighed.  
  
"She seems fine when she is in one of our arms," he said.  
  
"Let's just open presents then, we have to be at my parent's house at two for tea," she said.  
  
"Can we make a short stop before we go to their house?" James asked.  
  
"To where exactly?" asked Lily as she grabbed a gift for Rose.  
  
"Well I kind of wanted to visit my parents too," said James looking at Lily.  
  
She nodded. "That would be fine," she said, offering a smile.  
  
Lily tore at the wrapping paper on the gift sitting in front of Rose. "I don't think she gets it, Lils," James sighed, kissing Lily's forehead.  
  
"Do you think I should open it for her?" asked Lily.  
  
"Give her a minute, she did a very good job of ripping up my paper the other day," James said, glaring at Rose.  
  
Lily tore a bit more of the wrapping paper away. Rose was not impressed. Lily sighed and ripped off all of the paper. "I should have known, James," Likely sighed as she pulled a small broom out of the paper.  
  
James shrugged. "What did you expect?" he smiled innocently.  
  
Lily rolled her eyes and set the broom on the ground beside her.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
The pile of discarded wrapping paper and ribbon grew taller as the pile of presents grew smaller. Rose giggled when her eyes landed on the pile of discarded paper. James saw what she was looking at and lifted her into the pile. Lily laughed as Rose began tearing apart the paper. "Why couldn't she do that to her presents?" Lily asked.  
  
"Because the wrap job was too pretty," said James simply.  
  
Lily hit him and laughed. James reached out and cupped her face in his hand. He stared into her eyes, taking in their beauty before gently kissing her lips. Lily's eyes fluttered shut as he continued to kiss her. His hands toyed with her red locks as her arms automatically drew themselves around his neck.  
  
James softly ended the kiss, much to Lily's disappointment. He stuffed a small wrapped box into her hands and watched her eyes light up. "What? You didn't think that I would just get you that perfume, did you?" James laughed, kissing her again.  
  
"You always have something up your sleeve James Potter!" Lily laughed.  
  
"And you never know what it might be Lily Potter," smiled James.  
  
Lily smiled back at him and tore the wrapping paper off, revealing a small gray velvet box. She opened the box slowly and gasped when she saw what was inside. "The yellow topaz one is me, the emerald one is you, and the ruby one is Rose," explained James as he slid the ring onto Lily's finger.  
  
"It's beautiful, James!" Lily gasped as she stared at her finger.  
  
"Now Rose and I will be with you, no matter where you are," he whispered softly.  
  
"Where did you get the idea?" Lily inquired.  
  
"Potter family tradition. I was supposed to give it to you on our wedding night, with just our stones on it of course, but I spent most of my cash on that wedding ring sitting on your finger. So I waited until Rose was born and put all three of us on the ring," James explained. "And if we ever have another child, we can add its stone as well," he added thinking about the boy with jet black hair and green eyes.  
  
"I love it James!" said Lily.  
  
"I knew you would," smiled James.  
  
"Now I feel guilty. All I got you was the broom service kit and the tickets to the Bulgaria vs. England game," Lily sighed.  
  
"And I love my gift," said James rubbing her shoulders.  
  
"Do you think that Rose enjoyed her gifts?" asked Lily as she leaned back into James' arms.  
  
James looked over at Rose who was still playing in the wrapping paper. "Well she certainly like my choice of wrapping paper," he laughed, kissing Lily's head.  
  
Lily laughed as she watched Rose continue to rip apart the paper. "Well I know what to get her for her birthday," she sighed.  
  
"What time do we have to be at your parent's house?" James asked, leaning his chin on Lily's head.  
  
"Two" she answered, closing her eyes.  
  
"Can we visit my parents at one-thirty and apparate to their house?" asked James.  
  
"Sure," said Lily. "You should really open that gift from them," she added softly.  
  
"James sighed. "I'll do it later. Right now I have to get dressed and stuff," he said.  
  
Lily sighed and looked at Rose after James had left the room. "He'll open it when he is ready I suppose," she said.  
  
Rose just stared at her mother blankly. "Come on, we have to get you dressed before we go to grandma and grandpa's," Lily said as she scooped up Rose out of the wrapping paper.  
  
Rose clung tightly to Lily's shoulder and buried her face in her hair. Lily sighed again as they entered the nursery. "So Rose, what do you want to wear to grandma and grandpa's Lily asked.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"You and Rose stay here," James said as he opened the gate to the wizarding burial grounds.  
  
Lily nodded and took Rose from him. She watched as James walked onto the burial grounds carrying a thin wrapped package that contained a scrapbook that Lily had put together for them a few months ago.  
  
She drew her cloak tighter around herself as James disappeared from view. She hoped he wouldn't be too long, it was getting really cold outside. Lily pulled out her wand and produced a flame coming out of the tip. Rose was shivering slightly in her grasp and she pulled her closer to her, trying to keep her warm.  
  
About ten minutes passed before James came back, apologizing for being gone so long. Lily shook her head and told him it was alright before handing Rose back to him. They both apparated away from the burial grounds and planned to meet in the Evans' guest bedroom.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
James could see Lily clench her fists as her sister's voice traveled down the hall. "...isn't coming, is she?"  
  
James gave her a tight hug and a kiss on her cheek before they entered the living room. "There you are Lily! We were wondering when you were going to get here!" said Mrs. Evans hugging Lily and James.  
  
"Where is my favorite granddaughter?" Mr. Evans laughed.  
  
Lily held Rose out for him to hold and smirked at Petunia who was shooting her a glare. "She has been wanting to see you father!" Lily said brightly.  
  
James sighed and took a seat on the couch opposite of Petunia and a beefy man who must have been her husband Vernon. Lily sat next to James, still smiling. "Petty was just talking about you. She was wondering whether you were going to be joining us," said Mrs. Evans, trying to break the tension between her daughters.  
  
"And right on cue you joined us," glared Petunia.  
  
"I am never late, Petty, you should know that by now," said Lily.  
  
"Petty was just telling us about her house that Vernon found in Surry," smiled Mrs. Evans.  
  
"So you are finally moving out of that apartment?" Lily gasped. "I would have thought you would have been there forever."  
  
Petunia just glared at her. "It is a rather nice house. Big and roomy. Probably a mansion compared to what you have," she sneered.  
  
James quickly turned his laugh into a hacking cough. "You haven't been to our new house yet, Petty. I am sure you'd think differently if you had," said Lily.  
  
"I wouldn't step foot in your house," said Petty.  
  
"I'm sure," said Lily. "James, has that safe-house charm been put into effect on our house yet?" she asked.  
  
James shook his head. "Not until the first of the year," he said.  
  
Vernon looked utterly confused at this point. "What? Does it just magically 'zap' enemies away?" Petunia laughed.  
  
"Yes, actually, it does," James said.  
  
Vernon laughed. "How in the blazes does it do that?" he asked.  
  
Lily looked at Petunia. "You haven't told him yet have you?" she asked.  
  
"Told me what, Petunia?" Vernon asked.  
  
"What type of family you married into," Lily smiled evilly.  
  
Petunia glared at her. "Tell me what Petty?" Vernon asked again.  
  
"Petunia, if you don't tell him I will," Lily smiled.  
  
James coughed nervously, sensing danger. He knew what Lily was going to tell him.  
  
"You wouldn't dare," Petunia warned.  
  
Lily just smiled. "He has the right to know, Petty."  
  
"What is this nonsense about? Tell me!" Vernon yelled.  
  
Petunia shook her head. "Don't you dare Lily!"  
  
Lily just kept smiling and reached into her pocket. James closed his eyes and sat back on the couch. She had her wand in her hand and he knew it.  
  
"James and I are wizards," she said.  
  
Vernon just laughed. "You expect me to believe this hocus pocus?" picking up his cup of tea.  
  
Lily pulled out her wand and summoned the tea cup out of his hand.  
  
Vernon gasped.  
  
Petunia glared at Lily.  
  
James buried his face in his hands.  
  
Mr. Evans just stared at Rose.  
  
Mrs. Evans sighed deeply.  
  
Rose just continued to look at her surroundings.  
  
Lily smiled triumphantly.  
  
There was a long drawn out silence in which Mr. Evans timidly broke. "Well now, we have some gifts for Lily, James, and Rose. Katherine, why don't you get them from the front room," he said slowly.  
  
Mrs. Evans nodded and got off of her chair. "Petty, when were you planning on telling me about this?" Vernon asked softly.  
  
Lily smiled to herself. This was going to be interesting. Petunia always waited until the worst moments to spill the beans on important issues. Vernon had taken the news better than she had expected, much to her disappointment.  
  
"Well Vernon, I was planning on telling you, just not for a while," said Petunia as her cheeks reddened.  
  
"I cannot believe that you hid this from me for so long," Vernon sighed.  
  
Petunia looked on the verge of tears. Lily just kept smiling while James slouched in his chair. "I was really going to tell you! I was just waiting for the right time," cried Petunia.  
  
"You never say anything at the right times," said Lily.  
  
Petunia glared at her. "That is only because every time I said something no one wanted to hear it. They were always cooing over their 'little Lily'. 'Little Lily is a witch! Isn't that wonderful! I always knew she was a bright one! Little Lily, our little witch!'" she sneered.  
  
Lily kept smiling. "You were never happy for me when I found out. I kept turning to you for your support and you pushed me away saying I was a freak. If you had supported me a little maybe they would have listened. But no, you just kept telling me how much of a freak I was and how I was going to meet a sticky end sooner or later. I haven't met any sticky ends yet and I doubt I ever will!" said Lily.  
  
And with this line, without even knowing it, Lily tempted fate.  
  
A/N- Well I hate to end it there, but I have to, yeah I know, writers are so unfair. Next chapter I think I am going to have to leave you with a cliffy, so have fun with that! : p Well till next time, leave me a review!!


	37. It Isn't Easy

"Well that was a very interesting trip to your parent's house," James sighed as he hung his coat in the closet.  
  
Lily gave him a look that was a cross between a smile and a glare. "Indeed it was," she said as she took off Rose's jacket.  
  
"I can't believe that Petunia hadn't told Vernon yet," said James.  
  
"Well if you were dating someone and thought that one day you might end up marrying them, the first words out of your mouth wouldn't be 'Do you have any wizards in your family? Well you will if you marry me, my sister, brother-in-law, and niece are all wizards,'" said Lily removing her own jacket.  
  
"I am glad she hadn't told him," said James as he closed the closet door.  
  
"Why is that?" Lily asked, heading into the living room.  
  
"It would have made this evening a lot less interesting," said James as he sat down on the couch.  
  
Lily sat next to him with Rose in her lap. "She better sleep tonight," she sighed.  
  
James laughed. "I doubt it," he said.  
  
"I need a goodnight sleep," Lily moaned as she buried her face into James' arm.  
  
"So do I," James sighed.  
  
Lily's head shot up and she glared at him. "You're not the one who is up with her four times a night!" she sighed.  
  
"I get up when you do," sighed James.  
  
"You don't have to," she said.  
  
"Well I can't sleep without you by my side," James said slowly.  
  
Lily smiled at him. "You're so cute sometimes, you know that?"  
  
"I think that your wish has come true," James whispered, kissing Lily's forehead.  
  
Lily looked down and saw that Rose was sleeping. She let out a sigh of relief. "Hopefully we'll be able to sleep through the night," she said, kissing him back.  
  
James slightly drew out the kiss. "Not a chance," he smiled.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
She had wavy red hair that was unrealistically soft and shiny. It always had the scent of flowers on each strand. It stuck up at odd angles and gave her the image that she had just gotten off of a broom stick.  
  
She had hazel eyes filled with happiness and wonder. They were the type of eyes that you could stare into and, with in moments, get lost in.  
  
She had rosy red cheeks to compliment her hair. They were soft and often kissed by her parents.  
  
She had soft full red lips that were usually arched into a smile.  
  
There were no words to describe her smile. It was enough to fill anyone's day with happiness. Dimples would appear on her cheeks and her eyes would light up and stare right at you.  
  
Her laugh was the happiest sound in the world. Just like her smile, it could lift anyone's spirits.  
  
Lily looked up from the picture of her daughter Rose with tears in her eyes. She would give anything to hear her laugh again. Sometimes Lily would wake in the middle of the night and run into the nursery trying to tell herself that Rose had been up crying. But of course she would look into the crib and see just a pile of wrinkled sheets.  
  
She tried to forget that day, but it is always the worst memories that stay in your mind the longest and refuse to leave. It was November now, one month after in happened.  
  
No, she couldn't think about it, not now.  
  
There was a light knock on the study door. Lily whirled around to see James standing in the doorway. She tried to force a smile and failed miserably. James walked over to her and saw what she was looking at. It was Rose's three month picture. He sighed and sat down next to her while pulling her into a hug. "Lily, don't do this to yourself," he whispered.  
  
Lily continued to cry into him. She rarely spoke since the day that 'it' happened. James was becoming deeply concerned about his wife. He missed the sparkle in her eyes and the smile on her face which he hadn't seen in nearly a month. "Lily, don't do this," he whispered again holding her tighter.  
  
"Sometimes I hear her crying at night. I...I see her smile...I fell her hands pulling my hair...I...hear...I hear her la-laugh!" Lily sobbed.  
  
James began to rub her back to calm her. "Lily, we both miss her, but there is nothing we can do but fight the evil who took her from us," he whispered.  
  
Lily broke away from James. "I WANT MY LITTLE GIRL BACK!" she screamed as she threw herself onto the arm of the couch sobbing uncontrollably.  
  
James continued to rub her back. "Me too Lily, me too," he whispered.  
  
"I'll always remember how often she woke up that night," Lily started as her tears lightened up. "If I had just kept going into her room every time she started to cry, this wouldn't have happened!"  
  
Lily, it wasn't your..."  
  
"WHAT KIND OF MOTHER DOESN'T GO TO HER CHILD WHEN IT IS CRYING?" Lily screamed into the couch.  
  
James had no idea what to say. Lily continued, "All of a sudden she stopped crying. I remember the house feeling so cold and silent."  
  
James sighed again. "Lily don't..."  
  
"Did I even think to check on her when she just suddenly stopped crying?" Lily said up again and grabbed the picture of Rose.  
  
James looked over at Lily. He could see the anger building up behind her green eyes as tears streamed down her pale face. She was sleep deprived and never spoke at all. The house was a silent grave yard. They had a few visitors occasionally, but all they did was say that they were sorry and cry. Even Sirius cried the day that he came for a visit. James had never seen his friend cry before.  
  
Lily hated being visited by people, even her best friends. She hid up in her room and didn't come out until James told her that everyone was gone. Every once and a while she would fall asleep, but she would wake up screaming and crying. She blamed it all on herself, but in his heart, James knew it was his fault.  
  
"Lily, just let her cry! She'll get the idea and fall asleep sooner or later!"  
  
"James! I have to go to her! She needs me!"  
  
"She won't learn that way! She's going to grow up thinking that whenever she cries you are going to get her!"  
  
"James! She needs me!"  
  
"No Lily! She needs to learn!"  
  
James shook his head. It was truly his fault, but Lily wouldn't hear his excuses. She blamed it entirely on herself and she suffered because of it. She would walk around the house complaining that she was a lousy mother or how much she wanted her baby girl back.  
  
James couldn't blame her. He did the same thing in his own mind. He blamed himself for being a lousy father and he kept praying that some miracle would bring Rose back to them. But he knew it wasn't possible. He found the mysterious boy floating through his mind a lot lately. It was like he was trying to comfort him. 'Well he is doing a pretty good job,' James thought.  
  
He kept remembering his dream and how the boy was helping Rose. Was it possible that he was with her in her mind, watching over her when she was taken? Maybe James was sent the dream so he could be assured that Rose wasn't alone when she was taken.  
  
"What are you thinking about James," asked Lily softly.  
  
"About Rose," he said.  
  
"Yeah me too," Lily sighed.  
  
"She wasn't alone you know," said James.  
  
"What do you mean?" Lily asked.  
  
"Remember the little boy with the black hair and green eyes?"  
  
"Yes," Lily sighed.  
  
"He was with her," said James confidently.  
  
Lily looked confused. "What do you mean?" she asked.  
  
"Remember the part of my dream where the boy was with her on the broomstick?" asked James.  
  
Lily nodded. "Well he was with her when it happened in my dream. I think that he might have been with Rose when it happened in real life," said James slowly.  
  
"Really?" she said, offering a smile.  
  
"Yeah," said James.  
  
"I have been seeing a lot of that little boy lately," sighed Lily.  
  
James nodded his head. "Me too."  
  
Lily shifted in his arms and buried her face into his chest. "The boy is always smiling at me and I look into his eyes and I feel...I feel happy," she said.  
  
"Yeah, me too," James said.  
  
"If I stare into his eyes even longer I see what must be flashes of his life. I see people and I see this green light which make him frown and start to cry a little. Whenever I see that light he starts to cry slightly and I see anger behind his eyes...it makes me want to help him..." she said.  
  
"I wonder what that green light means," sighed James.  
  
"I don't know, it must stand for something horrible," said Lily shaking her head.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
1 Month earlier  
  
Peter walked down a dark street in France with a moving bundle in his arms. He couldn't kill his friend's daughter, he just couldn't. So he was doing the next best thing, bringing her to another country and dropping her on a muggle's doorstep. As long as his master never found out, Peter wouldn't get in any trouble.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"So did all go as planned?"  
  
"Yes my lord," said Peter as he removed his long black winter cloak.  
  
"She is gone then?"  
  
"Yes, dead as can be, blind as well probably. That green light is awfully bright," he chuckled nervously.  
  
"Very good Peter. I am proud of you, not many people would turn on their friends like that."  
  
Peter cringed. "I know my lord, I know," he said.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Present time  
  
"Remus, we have to go and see them," sighed Amy.  
  
"We have been over there three times and it hasn't made any difference," said Remus.  
  
"We were Rose's godparents Remus!"  
  
"We still are Rose's godparents Amy," said Remus.  
  
"All the more reason to go over to their house," Amy said pointedly.  
  
"Shit Amy! How do you get me into these fixes?" said Remus as he grabbed his jacket.  
  
Amy smiled. "I am a very smart girl Remus," she said winking.  
  
"Well then I suppose we'd better go to the death house then," sighed Remus.  
  
Amy hit him. "Don't say that!"  
  
Remus nodded and apparated.  
  
He landed in the Potter's kitchen, got zapped and immediately got disapparated back to his house where he apparated from.  
  
Amy shrieked. "Remus! Are you alright?" she gasped as he landed on the floor.  
  
"I forgot that Prongs had that bloody break in charm put into effect on his house on the first of the year," Remus swore.  
  
Amy laughed. "I suppose we should give them a buzz then," she said.  
  
"As in call them on the phone?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, Lily knows how to use it," said Amy as she conjured up a mine phone.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"Lily still isn't seeing people then?" sighed Amy as she stepped into the Potter's kitchen.  
  
"Actually she is, but she is in the bathroom right now," said James, taking Amy and Remus' coats. "Just don't act sorry for her. Don't say anything about it unless she brings it up first," warned James.  
  
Lily came down the stairs just as Amy, Remus, and James were sitting down for tea. "Is there room for me at the table?" she asked, smiling.  
  
"There you are Lily! We missed you last time we visited!" said Amy, smiling.  
  
"Sorry about that, I haven't been at my best lately," sighed Lily as she sat down next to James.  
  
"We can understand Lils," Remus smiled warmly.  
  
Lily smiled back at him and took a sip of tea. "I am glad that you guys are here," she said.  
  
James nodded. "So am I," he said.  
  
"Well we are always going to be here for you guys, no matter what," said Remus.  
  
James snapped his fingers jokingly and said, "Darn, I thought I escaped that in my seventh year."  
  
Everyone laughed. "Sorry to disappoint you Prongs," said Remus.  
  
Amy picked up her tea cup and Lily saw something sparkle on her left hand. She stared at it for a moment and as soon as Amy saw what Lily was staring at, she blushed and took another sip of tea. "Are you going to make me ask?" asked Lily.  
  
Amy blushed harder. "Yes, I am," she said looking at Remus.  
  
"Let me see it Amy," said Lily, holding out her hand.  
  
James looked confused. "See what?" he asked.  
  
Lily grasped Amy's left and showed it to James. He gasped when he saw a single diamond smiling up at him. "Moony! You didn't tell us after it happened?" he yelled.  
  
"Well it happened to be on New Years Eve and you two were all sad and stuff so we didn't want it to seem like we were bragging," blushed Remus.  
  
"Yeah, so we were going to wait for a better time," she said.  
  
"Well we have to celebrate somehow!" said Lily, getting partially excited.  
  
James grabbed the Daily Prophet from the counter and flicked through it. "There is a dinner ball thing at the Ministry of Magic tomorrow at seven. It says that there will be dancing, food, and a live auction to raise money for the Ministry of Magic," said James.  
  
"That sounds like fun!" said Amy, clapping her hands.  
  
"We should go!" said Lily, looking happy.  
  
"You can wear that green dress that you bought back in May," laughed James to Lily.  
  
"Don't get too excited you lot," said Remus sighing.  
  
"What's up sweetie?" asked Amy.  
  
"Just because you can't dance doesn't mean you shouldn't go to the party Moony," said James.  
  
"Thanks Prongs," said Remus.  
  
"Really Remus, what is it?" asked Lily.  
  
"Well if any of you were to observe the night sky as closely as I do, you would know that tomorrow happens to be a full moon," he said, looking at his tea cup saucer.  
  
"But didn't we already have one this month?" asked James.  
  
"Yeah, but it is one of those odd occurrences, called a 'blue moon'," sighed Remus.  
  
"Wow, that sucks," said Lily.  
  
"Yeah, it does," said Remus.  
  
"Padfoot, Wormtail, and I will join you if you'd like," said James.  
  
"Yes, and then Lily and I can catch up and stuff," said Lily.  
  
"You guys really don't have to," said Remus, blushing.  
  
"But we want to, I want to," said James, smiling.  
  
Remus smiled back. "I really owe all of you one," he said.  
  
"Well, I hate to interrupt this friendship...moment...thing," said Amy, "but would you mind including us in the conversation somehow?"  
  
Remus laughed. "We'll have to plan something for the four of us to do together," he said.  
  
"I still say we should go dancing somewhere," said Lily.  
  
James nodded. "I haven't danced since my wedding night," he admitted.  
  
Amy raised her eyebrows. "Really?" she asked.  
  
"It is true Amy, we haven't been dancing since our wedding night. We were going to I suppose, but then I got pregnant with Rose...." Lily's voice trailed off.  
  
Amy patted her on the back. "I think I am going to go to bed, James," smiled Lily weakly.  
  
James nodded and Lily waved goodbye to Amy and Remus as she left the kitchen. At least she had talked to them for a while without tearing up, Lily thought. She could feel tears filling up her eyes. She couldn't live like this forever, like a turtle in a shell, withdrawing her head every time she thought of...Rose.  
  
The world is unfair sometimes.  
  
No parent should ever have to burry their child.  
  
No parent should ever out live their children.  
  
No parent should ever be left with the memory of their first born child haunting their mind.  
  
No parent should ever have to lock themselves in another world at the mentioning of their child.  
  
It wasn't easy to wake up feeling happy and then have the real world smack you on the face.  
  
It wasn't easy to look across the hall and see the room to your child's room closed.  
  
It wasn't easy to look at a family photo that always hangs in a hallway and notice that you'll never be able to take a picture with everyone in that picture ever again.  
  
It wasn't easy to love someone who you know you'll never see again.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!  
  
A/N- wipes eyes I was going to write this chapter differently, like give a full account of the night Peter took Rose, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I hate writing about how people die that are close to the main characters, as you noticed with this chapter and the one where James' parents die. Well I should be able to post the hidden meanings soon, I think I have written all that I need to. Till the next post, leave me a review.  
  
Sorry about all of the confusion with trying to get to this chapter. I made the stupid mistake of combining chapters at the wrong times and it all got messed up. So, dreadfully sorry. As a little treat, I am starting the hidden meanings contest early!!! So email me at the email address in my bio or whatever page with your answers. Make sure that the list is numbered!!!! So good luck with that!!!! 


	38. Tears, Words, and Roses

Lily pulled the covers off of herself and put her feet on the ground as she wiped her eyes. She strolled out of her room and turned around immediately to go back to bed as soon as she saw the closed door down the hall. She lied back down in bed and saw James looking at her. He looked concerned for her, like he always did when she would wake in the middle of the night.  
  
She let the tears pour down her face as she could not hold them in anymore. James rolled over in bed and pulled her into his arms. Lily cried into his shoulder as he rubbed her back and told her that it was going to be alright. He knew why she was crying. It was the same reason why she was crying last night, and the night before. He knew what she had gotten out of bed for. He knew what she was hearing in the silence of these long winter nights.  
  
He stroked her hair and held her tighter, letting her cry herself to sleep. This was how he had decided to handle it. There was nothing James could do to help her. There was nothing he could do to make her stop hearing what she was hearing in the dark recesses of her mind. She would have to continue to hear it for as long as she lived.  
  
James too sometimes heard what she heard. A faint cry echoing in the hallway or a giggle coming from a neighboring room. He heard them a lot less often now. Lily would drag herself out of bed every night when she heard the crying and run back to bed after she saw the nursery door was tightly closed. She would cry in his arms long into the night as their daughter's face flashed in and out of her head.  
  
Sometimes he would hold his breath and listen for any sign of his beloved daughter, anything to let him know if she was still alive. Lily would do the same at the oddest moments during the day and break out crying right after she realized that her mind was playing a joke on her. James would always be there to comfort her and cry with her. He was her sunlight, peaking through the clouds on a rainy day.  
  
It was raining every day in his mind. Nothing made him happy except for being with his friends and seeing Lily smile. He shut himself away from the world and let his thoughts wash his senses away most of the day as he sat around doing nothing. Lily would often join him, although they rarely ever talked during these times. Just being together made them feel slightly happy and reassured them that they were never going to be alone. James had promised Lily that she would never be alone. He would die by her side if she was dying and he would smile by her side if she was smiling.  
  
And cry by her side when she was crying.  
  
That was the case now. She was always crying, although at sometimes it wasn't obvious to the world around them, she was always crying, James could tell. She would cry and tears would roll down her cheeks so the whole world could see and at other times she would cry in her heart as her soul filled with sadness so that only James could see.  
  
They never talked, but there was no need to. James learned a long time ago that tears are actually words the heart can't say. Tears are words too powerful to speak out loud, words that live only within our soul, words that sometimes no one can ever figure out what they mean. These words form droplets and are cast out of our eyes before they can be processed in our minds or spoken to the world. Every single tear that is shed, inside or out, has a meaning and powerful feeling. They trickle down our cheeks as if forming a sentence for the world to read, a sentence from the heart and soul. James never ignored Lily's tears and always let them roll down her cheeks before wiping them away, making sure that each one finishes its own sentence. He sometimes found himself wondering what these sentences said.  
  
Seeing Lily cry made him want to cry. No one so beautiful and perfect in every way deserves to have something happen to them to make them cry. It was wrong.  
  
James held her in his arms until she stopped crying. When he thought she was asleep he loosened his grip and started to roll to his side of the bed. "Don't leave me James!" Lily whispered.  
  
He grabbed her back in his arms. "I would never leave you Lils," he whispered back.  
  
Her arms curled around him and held him tight. "I know, I just don't ever want to be alone," she sighed as she curled her head under his neck.  
  
James kissed the top of her head. "No matter what happens you will never be alone," he said.  
  
"Ever since Rose was taken from us, I have been having these dreams about you leaving me or being....killed!" she breathed.  
  
"I would never ever leave you, not after I fought for so long to hold you in my arms. If I die, I will still be with you. If I die, I will do it defending you," James said.  
  
"I couldn't imagine life without you James," she said, starting to cry again.  
  
James moved in bed so he was looking at her face. "Don't even think about it," he said.  
  
"My mind is filled with these thoughts and I can't rid myself of them," she whispered as a new wave of tears rolled down her face.  
  
James wiped them away as soon as they reached her chin. "My mother always knew how to rid me of those thoughts when I was a child," he laughed.  
  
"How did she do it?" Lily asked.  
  
"She told me stories," James sighed.  
  
"James?" Lily asked after a moment.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Tell me a story," she sighed as she tightened her grip around him.  
  
James drew in a breath, thinking about what he was going to say. "There once was a princess that lived in a magical fairy tale land. She was always looking for her prince charming to sweep her off her feet and love her forever. Although she looked and looked, she never found him. But, she did find a boy who promised to love her for more than forever, took her breath away, never left her side, and was an amazing kisser."  
  
Lily laughed through her tears. "What? Are you telling me that I am a bad story teller?" James laughed sarcastically.  
  
"No, it is the best story I've ever heard," she smiled.  
  
"Then why are you laughing?" James asked.  
  
"Because you're funny," she laughed.  
  
"Do you want me to continue with the story or not?" James asked, trying to look serious.  
  
"Of course, keep talking," said Lily as she closed her eyes.  
  
"Not if you are going to fall asleep during it," James wined.  
  
"That is what you are supposed to do during made up fairy tales," Lily sighed as she moved closer to James.  
  
"Not during my made up fairy tales," he laughed.  
  
"Tough."  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
France  
  
"What are we going to do with her Trevor?"  
  
"We have always wanted a little girl Katherine, maybe it's a sign."  
  
"But what if her parents are still out there?"  
  
"Well they obviously don't care about her."  
  
"I still don't know about this."  
  
"Trust me, it is a sign."  
  
Katherine shifted nervously as she looked at the little girl lying in her arms. "What if they really do care though?"  
  
"Katherine, lets just go inside and if we hear anything about a missing child we'll turn her in."  
  
"Fine."  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
James kissed Lily again as they danced slowly together. She curled into him and rested her head on his shoulder. There were Valentine's decorations all over the Ministry of Magic basement and couples dancing on the floor just like he and Lily were doing now. Amy and Remus were dancing a few yards away and James could see Remus tenderly rubbing Amy's hips as they swayed.  
  
They were so in love it was sickening sometimes. They would zone out during conversations and just stare at each other or smile sweetly at one another when they were too far away to hold onto each other. They were always holding onto each other as if someone was coming to tare them apart. Their wedding day was in three months and James and Lily had asked to be best man and maid of honor.  
  
Lily tightened her arms around his neck and shook his gaze from Remus and Amy. He tightened his grip around her waist and smiled down at her. She smiled back and closed her eyes, leaving the smile on her lips.  
  
It reminded James of the Christmas dance back in their seventh year. He was so ecstatic when she had agreed to go with him, but she refused to enjoy herself until their first slow dance in which James pulled her outside by the lake and started to whisper in her ear. She had looked up at him and smiled softly and he knew that she had finally understood him and how he felt about her.  
  
He remembered how she had gently kissed his neck after she had smiled at him, making his heart jump into his throat. It had taken all of his energy not to kiss her back, fearing that she would run away from him. He looked back on that moment and realized how stupid he was at that moment. She wouldn't have run away from him. He could have kissed her all night and she wouldn't have run away. He had ended up kissing her that night, although it wasn't as romantic as it would have been if he had kissed her at that moment.  
  
It didn't matter now. James had Lily in his arms and that was all that mattered. She moved slightly again in his arms as the song came to an end. He lightly rubbed the small of her back and she sighed into him as she caressed his shoulders. The song ended and James led Lily back to the corner of the room near the dinner tables that had been set up, holding her hand.  
  
Lily smiled as she saw James smiling at her. They were standing in the corner of the room, behind the wall of balloons and streamers that separated the dance floor from the eating area. They were the only ones that weren't dancing. She was a little curious about it, but she knew that James would have a reason for separating themselves from the crowd.  
  
He pulled her back into their previous dancing position as the next slow song started up. Lily relaxed into him as she asked, "Why are we back here?"  
  
James smiled down at her and fumbled around in his pockets. A few seconds later he pulled out a long black box. Lily looked at it curiously for a moment before James laughed and kissed her. "It's for you, you know," he said softly.  
  
James held his breath as she opened the lid. There were only two possible reactions she could possibly have. One, she could love it or two she could hate it. Lily opened the lid and gasped as her hand came to her mouth. "James....it's....beautiful!" she said as she stared into the box.  
  
Lily felt the cold chain lay around her neck as James clasped it behind her neck. She was about to pull him into a kiss when he held out his hand and touched her neck where the necklace laid on her neck. "Look," he whispered.  
  
She looked down at what she thought was a crystal blood red ball. After a few seconds the ball began to move and Lily realized that it was a rose. Lily and James sat there for a few minutes watching as it opened and closed before she flung her arms around him and pulled him into a deep kiss. "So you like it then?" James smiled.  
  
Lily nodded as they began to dance again. James led them back towards the dance floor. The lights were out, leaving the room pitch black. Lily could barely make out the other couples dancing around them and she feared that they would somehow collide with them. She held onto James tighter and closed her eyes as she curled into him. She felt his arms tighten around her waist and his head lean on hers. His breath tickled her head and a smile played across her lips every time he exhaled.  
  
James heard Lily yawn slightly and she shifted her head so her face was buried in his neck. He lowered his head to her ear and whispered, "Are you ready to leave?"  
  
Lily nodded sleepily and looked up at James. He smiled at her and grasped her hand and led her the best he could through the crowd and out into the hallway. "See you at home," he smiled as he apparated.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Lily laughed as James twirled her around in the living room, watching her dress gracefully float in the air. "I had fun tonight," she said when she stopped spinning.  
  
"Me too, we hadn't been dancing in a while," James smiled.  
  
Lily's hand found its way up to the necklace around her neck. "Where did you ever get this from James?" she asked him.  
  
"I made it," he shrugged.  
  
Lily's mouth fell slightly open. "How?"  
  
"There is this one potion that I used, it wasn't really that hard."  
  
Lily smiled at him. "You're cute."  
  
"So I've been told," James grinned.  
  
Lily laughed. "We should be getting to bed," she yawned.  
  
James pulled his arms around her. "How come?" he asked, kissing her ear.  
  
"Isn't Sirius' big party for Amy and Remus tomorrow?" she asked as James kissed her cheek.  
  
"Yeah, so it's not until one," said James kissing Lily's neck.  
  
"We need to get some sleep, it is already two in the morning," she said as she looked at the clock.  
  
"We could go late," James suggested.  
  
Lily looked up at him. "You can go late, I am going to bed," she said as she pulled out of his grip and headed up the stairs.  
  
"I'll be up in a second," sighed James, ruffling his hair. "Stupid party," he muttered under his breath.  
  
!!!!!!  
  
A/N- I'm not going to be able to post for a while. I am going on vacation on Saturday and before I leave I need to finish memorizing music and my marching drill, so don't expect anything too soon. While you're waiting for the next post leave your list of hidden meanings in a review!!!!!! Hidden meaning contest ends.......Saturday the 14th of August. The winner will be announced whenever my next post is after that date along with my big list of hidden meanings. So leave me a review and hidden meanings. 


	39. Feelings and Blank Expressions

A/N- Just a little warning: Things are going to start happening very very very very very very very very very very very fast starting now. Enjoy the chapter!!

"Lily! James! You made it!" said Amy as Lily and James entered Sirius' house.  
  
"Of course we made it!" said Lily, hugging her friend.  
  
James nodded to Amy and said hello, hugging people wasn't really his way of greeting people. Amy led them into Sirius' living room where the punch tables and snack tables had been laid out in the room, talking the whole time about how excited she was and how glad she was to have such great friends. "Sorry we couldn't have been here earlier, someone was having some difficulty getting out of bed," said Lily, glaring at James.  
  
James blushed slightly and walked over to the punch table. Something definitely didn't feel right. His stomach was turning when he had woken up that morning and he had a feeling of dread about the day to come. Lily told him it was something he had eaten, but in her eyes he could see that she was worried about him. She never took his bad feelings for granted, but she really wanted to go to the party so she told him just to be on his guard and tell her if it got any worse.  
  
It had gotten worse. His stomach started twisting and turning as it came time for them to leave for the party and he insisted that they should stay home for a while. So that is what they did. They sat at home for an hour until James was feeling slightly better. He hoped the feeling would go away from him soon, he really wanted to eat something without throwing it up in front of everyone.  
  
He found Sirius standing by the punch table conversing quietly with Peter. Sirius looked horrible. His eyes were blood shot looked tired, he was pale and cold. James had never seen his friend like this before. Peter had a look of sorrow on his face as James approached them. "What's the matter Padfoot?" he asked, sounding concerned.  
  
Sirius just stared at James with a blank look on his face. Peter drew in a deep breath. "His brother was killed last night," he whispered.  
  
James stared at Sirius. "That's terrible Padfoot," James breathed.  
  
Sirius shook his head. "That's not the bad part," he said.  
  
James looked confused for a moment before Peter's voice broke the silence again. "He was a supporter of the one behind all of the attacks that have been happening," Peter whispered softly so no one else could hear.  
  
James could only stare at his two friends, matching their same blank expressions. He had never expected this. He knew that Sirius' brother hated him and the rest of the world at that. His mother had always favored his brother over Sirius and thought he was such a good boy for being sorted into Slytherin. James knew his brother wouldn't turn out good.  
  
"That's not all either Prongs," said Sirius, "Continue Wormtail."  
  
"Belltrix Lestrang is also a supporter," sighed Peter.  
  
"She is your cousin right?" asked James.  
  
"I never thought she'd turn on the family. She was in Slytherin and all, but I thought that she would turn out to be normal," Sirius shuddered.  
  
"There are many supporters of Voldemort out there," Peter said casually.  
  
"Who?" asked Sirius and James.  
  
Peter gave himself a mental kick. This was not good. "Come on Peter! Who is Voldemort?" James pressed.  
  
Peter squirmed nervously. "The one behind the attacks," he said.  
  
Boy, was he going to get it now.  
  
"You knew his name?" breathed Sirius.  
  
"I only just found out about it. I was going to bring it up at the next meeting," lied Peter.  
  
Why did he have such a big mouth? His mother told him it would get him into trouble someday.  
  
"Peter, you should have told Dumbledore right away," said Sirius, looking concerned.  
  
Peter nodded. "There has just been so much going on lately," he sighed.  
  
"Well I'll have to agree with you on that one Wormtail," said Sirius.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"Amy, let me see it again!" shrieked Gloria as Amy flashed her engagement ring under her nose.  
  
"It is so pretty," sighed Teresa.  
  
Amy grinned. "Remus has impeccable taste," she said.  
  
Lily laughed. "So have you decided on dresses yet?" asked Lily.  
  
"Yes, didn't you get the magazine tear-out I sent you by owl?" asked Amy.  
  
Lily shook her head. "I got mine," said Gloria.  
  
Amy shrugged and pulled open her purse. "This is what you will be wearing," she said as she pointed to a burgundy slim fitting dress.  
  
Lily gasped. "It's beautiful!"  
  
Amy smiled. "I know!"  
  
"It's nothing compared to Amy's dress," smiled Teresa.  
  
Amy pulled out another magazine scrap and showed it to Lily. Lily gasped again. "Why didn't they have one like this when I got married?" she asked.  
  
"Because it was meant for me!" Amy teased.  
  
Lily hit her lightly. "Maybe it made a mistake for waiting," she laughed.  
  
"Oh, but Lily, your dress was pretty too," sighed Gloria.  
  
Lily sighed. "Yeah, it was."  
  
Everyone laughed. "Not talking about me are you?" asked James.  
  
"Of course not sweetie," said Lily. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"I was just about to talk to you about that. 'Scuse me ladies, I am going to kidnap your ringleader for a moment," laughed James as he pulled on Lily's arm.  
  
"What's up James? You look troubled," said Lily as James closed the door to the bathroom as it was the closet room and it guaranteed them some privacy.  
  
"Sirius' brother died last night," he said.  
  
Lily gasped. "Oh no!" she said.  
  
"He was a supporter of Voldemort, the one who has been attacking everyone," James said.  
  
"That's terrible! But I must say, he wasn't exactly the last person you'd expect to be in on that kind of thing," she admitted softly.  
  
James nodded. "Do you remember his cousin Belltrix?" he asked, even quieter.  
  
Lily nodded. "I always liked her," she said. "She was always nice to me back at school."  
  
"Think again. She is a really big supporter of Voldemort," breathed James.  
  
Lily just stood there. "Since when?"  
  
"I have no idea," sighed James.  
  
"Now I'm scared, James. What if it was one of them that took Rose or killed your parents?" she cried.  
  
"That thought never crossed my mind. I'll have to bring it up to Dumbledore," said James softly.  
  
"Who told you this?" she asked.  
  
"Peter."  
  
"It is good to know that he is doing a good job," said Lily. "I feel safe knowing that we have a good friend by our side trying to find information to help us out."  
  
James held in his thoughts. He didn't want to make Lily nervous. He noticed how casually Peter talked about Belltrix and Sirius' brother supporting Voldemort and how it seemed like he just let the name 'Voldemort' roll off his tongue. The pit in his stomach grew deeper. "Come on, we should be getting back to the party," said James.  
  
Lily nodded and they walked out of the bathroom. "You were in there long enough," smirked Sirius.  
  
"Don't even," warned Lily.  
  
Sirius back off and went into the bathroom.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"Lily, have you seen Amy anywhere?" asked a voice in Lily's ear.  
  
She whirled around, heart racing. "Oh Remus, you scared me!" she gasped, putting her hand to her heart.  
  
"Sorry," he muttered. "Have you seen Amy?" he asked again.  
  
Lily shook her head. "Haven't lost her already have you?" she asked.  
  
Remus gave her a worried smile. "I think Sirius told her something that slightly upset her," he said.  
  
Lily frowned. "About Belltrix?"  
  
"I think so. They were close at school you know," he whispered.  
  
Lily thought for a moment and realized that there was only one place that her friend could possibly be. "Remus, I'll get her, I have a good hunch at where she is," Lily sighed.  
  
Remus nodded. "Thank you," he said. "Tell her I've been looking for her. I am all worried about her suddenly."  
  
Lily nodded. "I am worried for everyone now a day," she sighed.  
  
"No, I woke up with a bad feeling," whispered Remus.  
  
Lily stood frozen for a moment. "So did James," she breathed.  
  
"We have to find her," said Remus.  
  
Lily nodded. "Lily, hurry, I don't feel well at all," sighed Remus. "I haven't gotten a chance to tell her I love her this morning I was so busy."  
  
Lily nodded again and practically ran out of the door.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Lily breathed in the fresh air around her as she walked out of Sirius' house in search of Amy. It was a friendly neighborhood with a lot of flowers and children's toys. There was a park on the corner of the street that reminded Lily of the park she had always visited as a child. It had a few slides, varying in size and shape along with a few swings and a very tiny sandbox. She had to give Sirius some credit, he did pick a very good neighborhood to live in.  
  
There was a figure sitting on one of the swings at the park, leaning back to look at the sky. Lily recognized this figure to be Amy by the way her hair hung from the back of her head. It was straight brown and brushed the ground lightly. Her feet were out straight in front of her and Lily noticed that she didn't have any shoes on. She laughed. Amy had always hated shoes for as long as she could remember.  
  
Lily stopped walking for a moment just to watch her friend. Amy was so relaxed and happy. Her wedding day was only a few months away. It was all she ever talked about. And now, at her wedding party she was slightly nervous about the fact that she was getting married. Lily closed her eyes, remembering how she felt the night before her own wedding and how nervous James had been.  
  
When she opened her eyes Lily saw a figure standing behind Amy wearing a black cloak that swayed in the wind. The figure was tall and Lily could tell that it was female as her long hair cascaded down her shoulders, through the opening of her hood.  
  
The figure advanced on Amy and drew out its wand. Lily's mind froze. She tried to call out to her friend, but her voice caught in her throat. She tried to make her hands move to retrieve her wand from her pocket, but they hung heavily at her sides. She tried to break out into a run, but her feet were stuck to the ground.  
  
She watched in horror as a flash of green light erupted from the figure's wand. Lily closed her eyes shut. When she dared open them again she say Amy's limp figure hanging from the swing. Lily's voice came back into her throat in the middle of her silent scream and the figure noticed her for the first time.  
  
The figure stared at Lily and pointed her wand at her. A flash of blue light came out of the wand and Lily could distantly hear the figure swear before it apparated. Lily gasped as all went black and she fell to the ground unconscious.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"Lils?" James gasped as he saw her green eyes open.  
  
"James? Is that you?" Lily asked, turning her face away from him.  
  
"Yes, it's me," James sighed, feeling relieved.  
  
"Where are you?" Lily asked, reaching her arm out the opposite direction of where James was sitting.  
  
"Right here," James said as his hear fell slightly, grabbing her hand.  
  
"Why can't I see you?" panicked Lily as her head turned towards him.  
  
James sighed and buried his head into his free hand. "They said that his might happen."  
  
"What, what might happen?" called Lily.  
  
James drew in a deep breath. "There was a curse aimed at you and it hit your face."  
  
"And?" said Lily, already knowing what he was going to tell her.  
  
James felt his heart grow heavy and a tear roll down his face. "You're blind."  
  
A/N- Raise you hand if you suspected that.............I decided to post one more time before I left on vacation but I swear this is the last time before I get back next Wednesday. I origanally had another 4 or 5 pages on this chapter, but I decided that this would make a perfect cliffie.....hehehehe authors are evil sometimes. As I said earlier things are going to start moving really really fast. I am hoping that I can post the last chapter this Halloween in honor of Lily and James. It would give it a nice effect to read it the day that they actually died...well in the books at least. Well leave me a review and don't forget about the hidden meanings contest!!


	40. Die Inside

James never left Lily's side for a single second of the days that followed. He brushed her hair before bed and made sure she never ran into anything. They became closer than ever before. They sat around the house and talked for hours. James would tell her stories, going into detail about scenery and character appearances.

The only time that James ever left Lily's side was to go to Quidditch practice. He offered to quit playing so he could spend more time with her, but Lily wouldn't hear of it. So on the evenings that James was gone Sirius came to keep Lily company.

Sirius was the only one who knew that Lily was blind. He was their secret keeper and Lily and James agreed that it was a good idea to keep the fact that Lily was blind a secret. They hadn't failed to notice how big of a target they had become and James couldn't bear to think what would happen if word got out and Lily was home alone for a night.

Sure, Sirius wasn't the most responsible person in the world, but James knew that he would die to save any of his friends, just like any of his friends would die to save him. Loyalty was a word taken very seriously amongst the Marauders, a word that each of them understood quite well. To them the word stood on a totally different level, just like the relationship they shared surpassed friendship.

Sometimes the word drove them all insane, especially now. Lily and James weren't the only people that Sirius had been spending time with. Remus had fallen into a severe state of depression over his loss of Amy and was currently not speaking to James, accusing him of not coming to visit him as much of Sirius. James was forced to sigh and apologize to Remus as he could not tell him why he and Lily couldn't visit. He knew that Remus wouldn't tell anyone about Lily, but he didn't want to chance it. Remus would come around sooner or later, James knew.

As for the present moment, he was glad that Lily was still alive and he was able to hold her. He knew that it could have been worse. The nurses had told him that if Lily had been hit any lower she would have died. James remembered how nervous he was before she had woken up. He jumped at the sound of any noise and practically peed in his pants when Lily's eyes had snapped open. Due to pure luck she was alive, blind, but still alive. 'The blindness might not even be permanent,' James reminded himself as he stroked Lily's soft red hair.

"So what do you want to do today, Lily love?" James whispered softly as they sat snuggled under the covers of their bed.

Lily sighed. "Will you take me for a walk?" she asked.

James smiled. He was surprised at her answer. Usually she said something along the lines of, "Stay in your arms as time slowly passes us by,", but he wasn't going to say no to her. "Of course I will. Where would you like to walk to?" he asked her.

"To the park right here in Godric's Hollow," she replied as she squeezed his hand.

They stepped outside into the late February air and James heard Lily take in a deep breath. He had forgotten how long it had been since she had been outside. 'Too long,' James thought to himself. He held onto her hand as they walked down the street at a slow pace. "James?" Lily asked after a minute.

"What?"

"Could you finish telling me that story about the princess that ran away?" she asked.

"Where did I leave off?" James asked as they turned the corner.

"The princess was just about to knock on the boy's door," Lily replied.

"I thought we got past that part. Didn't we leave off where the guards had come to take the princess away?" James asked.

"I know, but I like how they fall in love and how much the princess' attitude changes," Lily sighed.

James drew in a deep breath and started his story. He had no idea where he had come up with the idea or what prompted him to tell a story like it in the first place. In all of the stories he had ever heard the princess falls in love with her prince and they live happily ever after. James supposed it was because he now knew that it was impossible to live happily ever after. But Lily had liked it and had stayed awake many nights to tell her the tale of a run away princess and the poor boy that lived in the forest.

"...why isn't he going after her?" Lily asked.

"He was mad that she didn't tell him that she was the princess," said James.

"But he loves her!" protested Lily.

"Are you going to let my finish the story or not?" asked James.

"Yes, but not right now. We should be nearing the park now shouldn't we?" asked Lily.

"Yeah, it's coming up on your left," said James.

They sat down on one of the benches and James began to tell Lily about the new addition to the park that had been put in recently. "I hate not being able to see," Lily said as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"The world looks almost exactly the same," sighed James as he looked at her.

"That's not what I meant," said Lily. "I don't care about not being able to see the world," she continued as more tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Then what is it you miss?" asked James, wiping her tears.

Lily drew in a long shaky breath. "I miss seeing you," she sobbed into his shoulder.

James was deeply touched by her comment. He wanted to kiss her and give her his vision. "I haven't really changed," James said, having no idea what he was supposed to say.

"But it is slipping away James! I can't see your smile in my mind or your hazel eyes that I love so much!" she cried.

Suddenly James found himself crying. He couldn't imagine not being able to see Lily. He couldn't imagine what it would feel like to love someone you couldn't see or not remember what they looked like. He pulled her into a hug and let his tears fall onto her head. As if to reflect perfectly on their present mood the clouds rolled in and rain fell to the earth. They were both drenched with rain with in a few minutes and neither of them could tell the difference between their own tears and the falling rain. He heard Lily laugh slightly as the rain hit her face. "Come on, we should fit under the jungle gym steps," James said as he grasped Lily's hands and pulled her over to the playground.

Lily was still laughing when they got under the shelter of the steps. James pulled her onto his lap and kissed her forehead. Lily brought her hands up to his face and ran her fingers around it, trying to remember him. James saw her smile as her fingers found his lips. She leaned forward and kissed him softly. James held onto her tightly around her waist as her hands ran up and down his arms and chest.

James deepened the kiss as one of Lily's hands wound itself in his hair. He kept one of his hands on the small of her back while the other hand moved up and down her spine. He felt her shiver slightly as she grasped him closer to her. Their lips moved in unison getting faster, then slower, then faster again.

"I'll never leave you," James whispered as Lily kissed him. "I'll make you see again," he added with determination.

"I love you James," Lily sighed.

"And I love you more," said James as he gently kissed her neck and grasped her wandering hand in his.

Lily smiled as James kissed her pulse point. She knew that he was the reason she was still here. For the most people losing your only child, best friend, and precious eye sight would be too much to handle. Unlike most people, she had something to hold onto. James was always there to comfort her and hold her at night. He had become her window to the world.

She needed some way to thank him. She knew that he could have left her in the hospital for the nurses to deal with, but he hadn't. He had taken it on his responsibility to take care of her. He loved her the same way he had before, if not more. There was no way that Lily could ever repay him.

"Lily?" James asked softly as he kissed her soft pale hand.

"Yes?" she asked as she leaned back into him.

"You wouldn't leave me either, would you?" he asked slowly.

"Without you I'd be lost forever," said Lily as she kissed his chin, she had been aiming for his cheek.

James held her tighter in his arms, wishing that this moment would last forever. He grabbed her hand as he saw it near his face and kissed her fingertips lightly. He saw her smile softly as she traced the outline of his lips and at that moment he realized that he was the luckiest person in the whole world. He had found someone who he loved more than life itself and she in turn loved him even more than he loved her, if it was humanly possible to love someone that much.

'No,' he thought, 'it definitely isn't possible.'

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I feel alone.

I feel empty.

My soul is dark.

My heart is cold.

My thoughts are only of one person.

I never talk.

I never listen.

I only cared about one thing.

Amy.

Her funeral had been that day, but I couldn't bring myself to go. I didn't want to say good bye to her. Somehow I felt that if he didn't go and watch her be placed in the ground she wouldn't really leave me.

I miss her so much. Sometimes I'll wake up in the morning and tell myself that it never happened and I would see her later on in the day. Then I sigh and try to go back to sleep when I realize I am lying to myself.

I hate being alone. Sirius comes by almost everyday to talk to me and bring me the news of the outside world that I shut myself away from. He says that Dumbledore is heightening security measures to fight Voldemort. I shake in anger at his name. I have grown to hate it.

Peter comes by every once and a while and says nothing. He almost seems afraid to talk to me, like he is going to tell me something I'm not supposed to know. He has become extremely odd lately. I think it is because of the attacks. His visits always last the longest and are always the most torturous.

The person I really want to see is said to be very ill at home, at least so I'm told. Lily was the only witness to the attack and hasn't been able to talk to anyone about it. According to James she is in critical condition from a curse that the attacker hit her in attempt to kill her. She was lucky enough to live and James said that her 'condition' might pass after a while. I offered to go and visit her once while James was over. He quickly said 'no' and I got really mad at him. It's like he is hiding something from me about Lily. That was the last time he came to visit and we are no longer speaking to each other.

So I am stuck alone for most of the time. The full moon is approaching. I am dreading it more than I have ever dreaded it before. It is sure to be one ugly transformation. The only thing I am dreading more than the full moon is April 14th, the day that was supposed to be the happiest day of my life. A tear always leaves my eye whenever I think about it. Amy and I always talked about it at night before we went to sleep. She always said that she couldn't wait to see my face when she walked up the isle. According to her she had picked out the most amazing wedding dress in the world.

I only have one thing planned to do now on April 14th, look in the back of her closet at exactly 2 pm and look at the dress. I promised myself that I wouldn't look at it until the exact moment that I would have seen it on our wedding day. I also plan on putting on my wedding band to wear forever so the whole world knows that I have already given my heart away.

It left with Amy, the exact moment that she did. I could feel something die inside of me the exact moment that she died. Something left me and made me cold. I swore that I would never love again. It would be impossible for me to love anyone more than I loved Amy.

She is gone, but that doesn't stop me from loving her. I can feel her presence sometimes at night when I can't sleep. It makes me smile and feel warm inside. I dug out some of our old pictures yesterday and found that she was still smiling in all of them, still moving. This is one way that I am assured that she will never really leave me. I wear a look of sorrow in all of the pictures and am holding onto her with all my might.

I am just so glad that it didn't end like some books you read where the husband and wife get into a huge fight and then BAM those are their last words to each other. I don't quite remember what my last words to Amy were, but I just remember how much I regretted not telling her that I loved her as soon as she walked into Sirius' house. I will regret it for the rest of my life.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"James, I think the Daily Prophet owl is here," Lily whispered

James groaned as he rolled out of bed. He walked sleepily down the stairs, tripping over the last step. He grumbled as he grabbed some money to put in the delivery owl's bag and took the paper from its beak. He trudged back up the stairs and collapsed on the bed. "How the hell did you know that that owl was here?" James asked.

Lily smiled to herself. "I could hear it tapping on the window."

"You have some freakishly good ears," said James as he kissed Lily and pulled her into his arms.

"It's amazing what you can hear if you listen," she sighed.

James laughed as he flicked on his lamp. "Anything interesting in the news?" Lily asked as she laid her head on his lap.

"I was just about to check," he said as he unrolled the paper.

Lily moved slightly on James' lap and put her arms over her head to wrap then around his waist. "Oh no," James sighed.

Lily could hear the pages of the paper rustling as James frantically tried to find the page he was looking for. "What happened? Not another attack?" she asked.

"No, but the way this looks there might be one soon," James said angrily. "Listen to this:

Potter Presents Vital Information

At a meeting of an unidentified organization Mr. James Potter revealed that he had found out who was behind the attacks. The master planner refers to himself as 'Voldemort'. We aren't sure whether or not it is his real name, but we are sure of a few other names of people who are said to follow him. Mr. Potter informed us that Belltrix Lestrang and Regulus Black were both followers of 'Voldemort'. Regulus was murdered a month ago, supposedly at the wand of 'Voldemort' himself, but we are still on the look out for Lestrang. Thank you Mr. Potter."

Lily gasped. "But Peter was the one who really found out!" she said.

"I only said something about it because Peter wasn't at the meeting!" James said. "Now people will think that I found out!"

"You don't think that Voldemort will come after you, do you?" Lily asked softly.

"Well I did just blow his cover," James laughed slightly.

Lily started to cry. "James I can't live like this! I just can't! I don't want to be afraid to fall asleep at night.

James thought for a moment. "He never went for us directly though. He got my parents, Rose, and Amy, but never tried to kill us," he whispered, almost to himself.

"James what are we going to do?" Lily asked fearfully.

James didn't hear her. "They would come after my family...but I don't have any family members left. So that means they'll come after my friends," he said again to himself.

Lily gasped. "James, you might not have family members left, but I do!" she shrieked.

James shook his head. "They won't go after them, they would go after the ones that I am close to or do something to upset me terribly," he said.

Lily started crying into his shoulder. "Why can't he just leave us alone?" she yelled.

James held her tight. "Don't cry Lily love. Seeing you cry makes me want to die inside," said James softly.

He paused after he said this and listened as his words echoed back in his head.

"_Don't cry Lily love. Seeing you cry makes me want to die inside..."_

"_Seeing you cry makes me want to die inside..."_

"_You...cry...me...die...inside..."_

A/N-Well i can't really type a really long note today. I just got back from my trip and my mother says i should be going to bed. She also said that i can't type a word until i finish my summer reading. Only one book left!!! Well hopefully i will finish within a few days, but i still have to write chapter 41. It is going to be a long wait. Sorry!!! Oh, Yeah, for those of you who don't read my profile, i have an account on as well under the same pen name. all i really have up are poems and stuff, only one story so far. Hopefully you will check it out during the long wait for chapter 41. Lol. Well i'll try to hurry, but you can't hurry good writing....unless you don't want good writing....till next post.....


	41. It Isn't a Dream

Daily Prophet News Flashes started coming no less than three times a day, each reporting three or four murders or tortures. Muggle families had become new targets, but according to Dumbledore only families that had future Hogwarts students in them.

These special Daily Prophet Flashes also contained the some what good news too. People were being caught or at least named. Travers was traced back to the murder of the McKinnons and Beltrix Lestrang was traced to the murder of Amy Stephens, although neither were caught. Nott was caught for torturing three muggle families over the past 3 weeks.

Molly Weasley's cousins Gideon and Fabian Prewett were murdered a few day earlier by no less than five death eaters. Only two had been named so far, Crabbe and Goyle. Molly was taken by surprise with this attack. She had just named them god parents to her new born twins Fred and George who were born earlier in April.

Either the Ministry of Magic was doing something right or this was all Voldemort's plan. Barty Crouch, a ministry official, was taking charge over the situation and just recently granted the permission to Aurors to use the Unforgivables on suspected Death Eaters as they called themselves. Crouch was becoming very powerful and popular in the Ministry. Some say he is up for the job of Minister of Magic.

Augustus Rockwood was also proving to be very useful in the Ministry. He supposedly prevented three break ins to the Department of Mysteries where he worked. It was his job to analyze the attacks and try to figure out the meaning behind them. So far, he hadn't come up with much, but he was coming close.

James spend his nights in uneasy sleep. He had known a lot of the suspected murderers from school, some he had even known personally, like Regulus Black and Beltrix Lestrang. Avery and Rosier had hung out with Snape along with Wilks and Mr. Lestrang. He sometimes found himself wondering whether Snape was a death eater or not. Snape certainly looked the type with his greasy hair and all.

James reflected back on the day when he started hating Snape. It was over Lily if he was remembering correctly. Lily had always shown some sort of sympathy for Snape and they got along pretty well together for a while. Then one day Snape and Lily got into a fight over something and James remembered Lily running across the grounds looking furious. He later found out that the reason for her rage was the fact that Snape had called her a mudblood.

James had hunted him down right then and there and hexed him. From that day on James has hated Snape, all because he called Lily a mudblood. Lily and Snape stopped hanging around each other, much to James' relief, shortly after. He would never forget that day in their fourth year. He hated Snape so much. He couldn't understand how Snape could call the most beautiful, smart, perfect girl in the world a mudblood. It blew his mind.

All that mattered now was that she was safe and sound. He loved her and she loved him. He looked over at her and smiled. She was sleeping and hopefully having a good dream. James had no way of knowing as her face was blank. Maybe she wasn't dreaming at all. He rested his chin on her chest and closed his eyes. For some reason sleep came easier when he was closer to her.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lily carefully walked down stairs into the kitchen where James was waiting to serve her afternoon tea. She was happy for some odd reason, happier than she had been since the accident. "Hello James," she said as she stepped into the threshold of the kitchen.

"Hey Lily love," he greeted her.

"Do I get to be led to my seat like at the fancy restaurants?" she smiled.

James laughed and put on his fake 'rich and royal voice'. "Of course madam, right this way," he said stretching out an arm for her.

Lily laughed as she felt her back hit the back of their kitchen chairs. "Any exciting news to read?" she asked hesitantly.

"No, and be thankful for that," said James as he poured the tea.

"I am thankful then," she smiled.

"What has got you in such a good mood?" he asked.

"I had a dream about that little boy last night. Whenever I see him I get really happy," she said.

"I see," said James.

"I don't know what it is about that little boy James," she said as she shook her head.

"Me either," James said nervously.

"Is something wrong? You sound tense," asked Lily.

"No, nothing is wrong. I have been thinking about that little boy as well," said James.

"I see. Care to continue that thought?" she asked.

"Do you really think that he is our future son?" asked James.

Lily shrugged and sipped her tea. "He certainly looks like he could be our son," she said.

"Really Lily. Do you think he could be our son?" asked James.

Lily frowned. "I don't know," she said finally. "I guess we'll find out someday," she smiled.

James found himself smiling as well. "Are you saying that you want another baby?" he asked.

"I might be saying something like that," she smiled again.

"We'll see what happens," James replied, kissing her.

Lily laughed. "Well I didn't mean right now, it is tea time right now," she said.

James pouted. "And nothing can interrupt tea time, right?" he said.

Lily frowned again and sighed. "I don't want to try to have a child until I know whether my blindness is permanent or not," she said.

James smiled. "They did say that there was hope," he said.

"I just want to be sure. I don't want my child to have a blind mother," she sighed.

"It wouldn't matter, you'd love it just the same. And it would love you, just like I love you," he said.

Lily smiled weakly. "I'd still like to know about my condition first," she said.

"Well it's not like you have cancer or something," he said.

"And I'm grateful for that," Lily sighed.

There was a silence as they sipped their tea, broken by a sharp tap on the kitchen window. James looked up and Lily held her breath. "What is it James?" asked Lily.

"Two owls," he said. "One from the Ministry and one from the Daily Prophet," he added.

James recognized the letter that the Ministry owl was holding. It was black with white writing, the ones that get delivered when someone dies. This letter was addressed to Lily Potter. "Shit," sighed James.

"What? Another attack?" she asked.

"I don't know, probably," he said.

"Who?" she asked.

"The black letter will explain," said James.

"The 'death letters?'" asked Lily softly.

"Yeah, the 'death letters'" James responded.

"For who?" Lily asked as she held her breath.

"You," said James handing her the letter.

"Read it to me?" she asked.

"Open it and I'll read it," said James as he unrolled the Daily Prophet.

His heart fell as he saw the front page. He knew who had died. Lily opened the letter and handed it to him. He opened the letter and drew in a long breath. He read:

"Dear Mrs. Lily Potter,

We are dreadfully sorry to inform you that at eleven-twenty-five this morning the Evans residence in London was attacked by death eaters. They killed your parents and little parakeet that was in the front hall. We had never expected this to happen and we are dreadfully sorry. We will let you make any arrangements needed.

-Elle Lockhart

Ministry of Magic"

Lily felt her heart tare apart as the letter sank into her. She felt part of herself die with in her. She felt empty.

"Lily I'm so sorry," James said through his tears.

Lily's face was dry from shock. "Tell me I'm dreaming."

"I can't lie to you. This isn't a dream," said James.

A/N- Well there goes Lily's parents. Sorry for the sucky chapter, I needed to post something. I want to respond to reviewer, I don't know if she is still reading but here is my response.

Me.- I have heard that James was a chaser in the books, but I couldn't find it any where in them, not that I don't believe you, I do. So I went off of the movies and put him as a seeker. Yes Sirius WAS the secret keeper, I suggest you re-read book 3. I established the ages of the Weasley's later on, thanks for helping though. Finally I would like to say that I did not know when Peter started spying. I needed him to start as a spy early in the story to lead up to other events. Thanks for reviewing, hopefully you are still reading!!

One last thing before I move on. Some of you have been asking me to write an AU story continuing from this fic in which Rose, Harry, Lily and James are all living happily ( or at least some what happily) together. I am considering it. Here's what I'll do. I am going to finish up this fic and do another story as an 'alternate ending' sort of thing. But I have to finish this one first.

Next order of business- The hidden meanings contest ended yesterday and no one sent me hidden meanings except for the people who sent them in before the contest started, so I am forced to choose one of them. So the winner is man eating plant who found 16 hidden meanings. Congrats...place your desired roll in a review, (hint: I am short on death eaters...) lol. Whatever. Here are the hidden meanings that I hid.

Hidden meanings: Points contain OotP spoilers.

1. _He stood up and tried to push the people out of his way, but he kept being pushed down by Hagrid who was telling him, "You don't want to see this Mr. Potter."_

A lot of this chapter is James feeling a little like Harry does in the OotP. Example- James is trying to figure out what is happening to Rose on the Quidditch pitch and Hagrid keeps pushing him back. This relates to Harry in a way. Harry is always trying to figure out why the Order won't let him join the discussions or know what is going on right in front of his nose.

2. _It was Sirius, just laughing at him, laughing and laughing. James shot a spell at him and Sirius yelled, "Come on! Is that the best you've got?" _

_James hit him again with another spell and Sirius fell backwards with a look of mild shock on his face although the laughter never left his eyes. He fell back through a sheet of thick fog and disappeared. James ran to find his friend and found that he wasn't there. He started calling for him over and over when Remus came into view. James called out for his friend. "SIRIUS! SIRIUS!"_

"_There is nothing that you can do, James," Remus said calmly. _

"_I could go find him! I need to find him! He only just disappeared!" James protested. _

"_It is too late, James," said Remus. _

"_I can still get him!" said James angrily. _

"_There is nothing you can do, James, he is gone," said Remus slowly, letting every word sink in. _

"_He hasn't gone!" James yelled. _

"_SIRIUS! SIRIUS!" James bellowed into the mist and fog. _

"_He can't come back because he is dead," said Remus. _

"_HE IS NOT DEAD!" James yelled. "SIRIUS!" _

"_He is dead, there is nothing you can do, James." With that being said Remus disappeared into the fog as well. _

James is seeing Sirius' death. I used the OotP for help with this part, but just changed a few of the words. Remus is trying to convince James that Sirius is dead just like he had to convince Harry that Sirius was dead. Sirius fell through fog instead of the veil. James killed him instead of Belltrix Lestrang.

3. _He started running and fell. James couldn't bring himself back to his feet. He began crawling towards his daughter's body. He saw the ground ahead looking rugged with orange balls of different sized popping up around him. A black cat jumped out in front of him and looked at him innocently before moving on. A bat flew by his head and James took cover behind one of the orange balls which he confirmed to be pumpkins. _

The pumpkins, black cats, are all symbols of Halloween. James sees these elements as he makes his way towards Lily. When did Lily die again? Halloween.

4._ "I tried James, I really tried."_

"_Tried what?" asked James watching his wife's chest move up and down in irregular rhythms. _

"_He got Harry," she gasped. _

"_Who's Harry?" James asked. _

"_How can you not know?" she gasped. _

"_Who is he?"_

"_He's your..." Lily's eyes fluttered shut as she took in her last breath. _

"_Who! Who is he?" was all James could say as he sat by his lifeless wife's side crying in frustration and anger. _

James hears Lily talking about Harry and how she was trying to save him. In a way he is seeing the end of his days and listening to Lily's possible thoughts before she died, her fears that Voldemort got Harry. Obviously James does not know who Harry is yet.

5. _A boy was with her, a boy that James could have sworn was a younger version of himself. ---------------Rose cried harder and the boy with messy black hair and green eyes floated over to her. He looked badly burned on his right shoulder, there was blood staining his robes, and James could have sworn he had seen a lightning bolt shaped scar in the middle of his forehead._

James sees his future son Harry and doesn't know who he is. James sees Harry's scar and if we go even farther, James would know that his son plays Quidditch as well.

6. _He saw the smile fade from Rose's face and tears begin to pour down her face. James felt her tears hit his face like the falling rain. 'I knew you didn't care daddy! You're never home for me!" she cried. _

James fears are confirmed that he doesn't spend enough time with Rose when he is unable to answer her because he knows she is right.

7. _A gust of black air blew in, covering Rose and the boy._

The black air signifies Voldemort. It sweeps over both Harry and Rose because they were both victims of his evil plans.

8. _James could make out a limp figure hanging off the side of a broomstick and another figure barely holding on._

Rose was obviously the limp figure on the broom signifying her death. So there for you would think that Harry would be sitting up right on his broom since he didn't die, right? Wrong! He was said to be 'barely holding on' to signify that he would have many more encounters with Voldemort, each one becoming more and more deadly.

9._ It was now green, the exact shade of green that the little boy's eyes had been, the same shade that Lily's had been as well. A bolt of lightning flashed in the sky..._

Well obviously the green sky and lightning bolt is another symbol of Harry, nothing really important, and that Harry has Lily's eyes, which according to Rowling, is important.

10. _Then he realized that Rose hadn't disappeared from his arms, he had disappeared from her. ------------ Now she was the one who was alone in the world without anyone to care for her. _

James realizes another fear of his: What if something happened to him and Lily and Rose was all alone?

11._ James saw her twitch. She was still alive. _

Rose is still alive...

12. _He watched as a tall man covered in a black robe walked over to her. He picked her up in his arms and walked away with her._

The man in the black cloak was Peter. He was dressed in a black robe the night he took Rose from the Potter's.

13. _The man couldn't hear him and kept on walking with the last of the Potters. _

Peter walked out of the house, hoping that he had succeeded in taking the last generation of the Potters.

14. _Suddenly the invisible force that was holding James in the air broke and he was sent falling to the ground. He could distantly hear someone frantically calling his name._

Read it. Think about it. No, really, think about it. Key words: invisible force, falling to the ground, someone calling his name... Think about it long and hard. I shall explain this one later...

Now let's get into the meanings that weren't in James' dream. These were a bit more obvious.

15_. The boy's image floated into his head again. He was smiling, and yet there was sadness in his eyes._

Harry is always enjoying himself with his friends, but there is always something bothering him.

16. _He saw a boy with red hair and freckles and a girl with bushy brown hair._

Ron and Hermione, obviously.

17. _He saw the golden snitch fluttering._

The boy plays Quidditch as a seeker.

18. _a dragon surrounded by eggs_

Obviously the 1st task in the Triwizard tournament.

19. _He saw a blood red stone_

The Sorcerer's/ Philosopher's Stone

20. _man with two faces_

Voldemort and Qurriell (spelling?)

21. _He saw a giant snake and a girl lying by a diary in a dark wet place_.

Harry's ordeal in the Chamber of Secrets

22. _He saw a broom which he had never seen before_

Nimbus 2000 or Firebolt

23. _He saw a porky child sneering and throwing a fist into the air_.

Harry being abused by Dudley

24. _He saw a letters with green writing on them falling from the ceiling._

Harry's Hogwarts letters

25. _He saw a pair of red slits which resembled eyes._

Voldemort's eyes

26. _He saw a graveyard and a dead boy._

At the end of the fourth book when Cedric died

27. _He saw a strange web that was formed by two wands_

Also at the end of the 4th book when Harry and Voldemort's wands meet.

28. _He saw a castle _

Hogwarts

_29. a scary looking horse_

Thestral

30. _He saw a mirror_

Mirror of erised

31. _a girl with raven black hair crying and moving closer and closer._

When Harry and Cho kiss

32. _He saw a glittering coming from a thousand crystal orbs._

Department of Mysteries when Harry finds the prophecy.

33_. He saw a creature wearing a mask drawing in rattling breaths_.

Dementor

34. _He saw a hippogriff carrying a man out into the moonlight._

Sirius riding Buckbeak

35. _The flash of green light_

All Harry can remember from the time he spent with his parents.

36. _The flash of green light returned and the boy's face was taken by the feeling of anger and sadness_

When Harry remembers the green light he finds himself angry that that light was what took his parents away from him, therefore feeling angry and sad.

37. _His heart went out to the boy who looked all alone._

Harry has lost almost all of his family figures, therefore he feels alone inside.

38. _James suddenly hoped that Lily was right. He hoped that this was his child. He hoped that he could restore hope and happiness to the boy. He hoped that this would someday be his son._

This pretty much explains itself- James wants to make the child happy and raise it as his own to make sure it has a good life. It also shows James' goal of being a good father.

Well now you can all go back and re-read chapter 34 or what ever to see if you found them all. Whatever you'd like. Those are the hidden meanings. So yeah...till next post.


	42. Sunshine

It was depressing to see someone you loved in so much pain. James spent every moment by Lily's side, talking to her and wiping away her tears. He consoled her held her close. She reacted like James did after he lost his own parents. She spent the first few days in shock and let her world fall onto her shoulders during her parents funeral.

There was one detail that made Lily's experience ten times worse than James'. Unlike James, Lily didn't get to really say goodbye to her parents. Sure, she physically said goodbye and her last 'I love you's but she couldn't see them while she was saying it. It wasn't the first time that James whished that he could give his vision to Lily.

She cried for forever that night. She screamed into the silence and threw the pillows from their bed around the room. James couldn't do anything to stop her. He had felt the same way when he lost his parents. He had felt like throwing pillows and stones everywhere, but refrained.

Just when James thought life couldn't get any worse, a medi-witch from St. Mungo's pulled him outside during Lily's monthly check up on her eyes. The medi-witch had a grim expression and she avoided James' eyes as she looked at Lily's file. She opened her mouth many times, and closed it. Finally James asked her to just spit it out. Her words haunted his sleep for the next week. There were only two word that was really understand able. They were words that James never wanted to hear again. "...permanent....sorry..."

James refused to tell Lily the truth about what the medi-witch had said, her words had infuriated him. So, he lied. He told Lily that she would get better, but it would take some time. He had no idea what made him lie to his wife, but the medi-witches' words were like a dare, some sort of challenge to make sure that Lily got better.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz  
  
The news from James had been lifting for Lily. She was glad to know that she was going to get better, although James said that it was going to take some time. She didn't care. For once in a long time she was able to walk around with a smile on her face and a bounce in her steps. She would never know that James was dying inside.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz  
  
He knew that she would never see again. He had just given her false hope. He felt awful. He hated lying to her. He hated feeling guilty. He hated his life right now. He was glad that Lily couldn't see his facial expressions. He was always frowning and sometimes had tears flowing down his face.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz  
  
At first Lily just took James word that she was going to get better. Then something happened. Lily was awakened by something that she hated when she was a child, but now it was welcoming. Sunshine. It stung her eyes for a minute before she realized what it was.

Soon after she was able to determine whether the lights were on or off in the room. There was only one thing that was bothering her about the situation; when she told James he didn't really sound like he believed her.

Lily would have told herself that she was just mentally visualizing the light, but then she began to see colors. This time, she didn't tell James. She wanted it to be a surprise, and she wanted to make sure that it was for real. She knew that she couldn't be sure until she saw James face, James real face, not the distorted image in her head.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz  
  
James started to live in guilt. He didn't believe Lily. He was convinced that it was an act to make him happy and have hope. There wasn't any way that she could possibly see, not after what the medi-witch had said. He tried to be supportive of this trick that her mind was playing on her. He hoped that she wasn't becoming delusional.

It became too much for James after a few weeks of Lily guessing if the lights were off or on or if a certain object were a certain color. He confessed his feelings and told her that he didn't believe her.

In turn, Lily cried.

James cowered away, feeling guilty again as he heard the bathroom door close. He had never made her cry before, but he couldn't let her create this delusion for herself. It just couldn't happen.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz  
  
Lily went back and forth between believing in what she was seeing and believing that she was delusional. It was driving her crazy. Then she saw something. She actually saw something.

It resembled a black top of a mop that hung just a little bit above her own head and moved along with her at sometimes. Lily soon realized that it wasn't a mop.

She raised her hand as she smiled and planted it amidst the black shape. It felt soft beneath her touch and her suspicions were confirmed when she heard laughter coming from below it.

"Lily what are you doing?" James asked as he felt her hand playing in his hair.

"I had forgotten how messy it was," Lily laughed as a tear rolled down her cheek.

James shook his head. "No, Lily, don't do this," he said.

"Do what?" she asked.

"This, pretending that you can see," he sighed.

Lily got mad and removed her hand from his hair. "What makes you think that I am pretending?" she snapped.

"Remember that appointment that you had three weeks ago?" James asked.

Lily nodded.

"The real reason the medi-witch pulled me out into the hall was to tell me that you would never see again," James said.

Lily frowned. "She lied."

"No, she didn't," said James.

Lily drew put on a smile. "Meet me at the hospital James," she said simply before apparating.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz  
  
"Our answer is the same," said the same medi-witch that James had spoken to before. "the damage is permanent."

"You have to be making a mistake!" Lily shrieked.

The medi-witch shook her head. "We could run the tests again."

Lily shook her head in anger. "I can see!! I know I can!" she shouted.

James held her hand, but Lily pulled it away. "Maybe we should just go Lils," he said.

Lily angrily stood up and apparated.  
  
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

James sighed and apparated after her...but she didn't turn up where he thought she would have. She wasn't at home. James began to panic.

"Remus!" Lily called through the halls of her friend's house.

"I know you're here Remus! Get your bloody self down here!" she yelled again.

"Oh, Lily it's you," Remus responded somewhat coldly.

"Who else would it bloody be?" she snapped.

"What is the matter?" asked Remus.

"What do you mean what is the matter? My life is slipping away from me! First I have to watch my best friend die and become blinded because of it..." she continued to yell at the wall in front of her.

"Talk to me Lily," said Remus quietly.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz  
  
James kissed Lily again as his hands clamped tightly onto her waist. "I am so sorry," he whispered.

Lily kissed him softly. "I swear I will never ever tell you that you are wrong again," he added.

Lily laughed. "Good."

James pulled away from her for a moment. "Do you think that the medi-witch lied to us on purpose?" he asked.

Lily shrugged. "It doesn't matter James," she said, trying to pull him closer to her.

"Yes it does. She lied to us Lily. She presented us with life altering information that wasn't true. She could be imprisoned for that," James said as Lily kissed him.

"I don't care right now," Lily responded.

"I still think that we should tell someone," James added a few minutes later, pulling away yet again.

"Are you trying to frustrate me right now?" Lily half laughed.

"Why, is it working?" James grinned as he kissed her cheek.

Lily hit him and kissed him on the lips again.  
  
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Did it have the full effect?"

"Did what have the full effect?" asked Peter, yawning.

"The murder you twit!" growled Voldemort.

"Oh yes of course. More effect than we thought it was going to have," said Peter.

"How so?"

"Well Lily never go to say good bye to her parents. She never got to see them before they died," said Peter.

"What do you mean?" asked Voldemort growing angry.

"She was left blind after she witnessed Lestrang kill her friend," Peter replied.

"And I wasn't informed of this before? Crucio!"

Peter screamed as a wave of fear passed through him. "Stop! Have mercy!" he whined.

Voldemort stopped and stared at Peter. "Is her condition permanent?" he asked.

Peter shook his head. "James only told us about it last night at the get together he had for Lily. I only just found out that she had been blind."

Voldemort thought for a moment. "How often do you visit the Potters?" he asked.

"About once a week I get together with them along with Lupin and Black," Peter nervously replied.

"What if you told them that you wanted to bring a friend to one of these get togethers?" Voldemort smiled.

A/N- Sorry it took me so long to post and I am sorry for making you get all excited when you checked your mail and saw that I had updated, this chapter was very disappointing, to me at least. I hope that you enjoyed it a little more than me! School really sucks, especially having marching band non-stop, it wouldn't be half as bad if the weather was nice, but oh well. I am getting non-stop homework from all of my teachers including a research paper for biology which, luckily isn't due until January, but still....ugh....hopefully the next chapter won't be as disappointing and hopefully I can get some sleep tonight!!!

Sorry about the 'zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz'. Nothing else would show up as a separater, what happened to it? First I can't use the little stars and waves and now I can't use exlaimation points?! Come on!!!


	43. Willow Tree

Lily stared at James who was sleeping next to her with a half smile on his face. He was so quiet and childlike when he was asleep, looking not a day older than fifteen. She liked to watch his facial expressions change as his dream changed, but tonight he had had the same half smile on his face.

He shuffled a little bit in his sleep and brought his hands up to Lily's hair and played with it like Rose used to. He wrapped it around his fingers and stroked it lovingly. Lily smiled as she saw his smile grow wider. She grasped James' hand that was playing in her hair and held it close to her as she scooted closer to him. She let go of his hand and played with his hair, stroking it as if he were a fluffy dog of some sort.

Lily smiled as James' hazel eyes fluttered open to meet hers. He smiled and closed his eyes again, rolling closer to Lily and moving one of his hands to fiddle with the necklaces around his neck like he always did. He told her that it made him happy to see her wearing them every day. His other hand continued to tangle itself in her hair as he opened his eyes again.

"Why are you still up?" he asked sleepily.

"The storm woke me up," Lily shrugged.

James listened hard and heard for the first time that rain was hitting the roof. "You are a light sleeper," he commented as he cuddled into her.

"I know," said Lily as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

James laughed lightly. "Guess what tomorrow is?" he whispered.

Lily shrugged. "What?"

"Someone's birthday," he smiled as he kissed her.

"Whose?" Lily asked.

James rolled his eyes. "Yours," he said.

"Actually, that would be today," she said as she pointed to the clock that read two am.

James laughed. "I guess so. Happy birthday, birthday girl," he said, kissing her again.

Lily held him tighter as he continued to kiss her, their passion increasing with each second. "What do you want for your birthday?" James asked as he nibbled on her lower lip.

Lily kissed him again. "I dunno," she replied.

"Come on, you can't not know what you want for your birthday," he commented as he tickled her stomach.

Lily giggled. "Come on James, you know I'm incredibly ticklish.

James stopped tickling her for a second. "Actually, I didn't know that," he said.

Lily tried to roll out of bed as she saw James' trade mark grin spread across his face. James' Quidditch reflexes were too good; he caught her around the waist as she reached the carpeted floor. "James please!" Lily pleaded as his hands drew nearer to her stomach.

He rolled off the bed, his grin growing wider. He ran his fingers down her stomach and saw Lily smile slightly. James tickled her again, without showing any mercy. It wasn't too long before Lily was laughing so hard that she was crying and screaming for him to stop. She wiggled and squirmed under his grasp and finally managed to roll onto her stomach. She continued to laugh as James tried with all of his might to roll her over again.

"James! I can't breath!" Lily gasped as she continued to laugh.

James gave up trying to tickle her and let her regain her normal breathing. Lily looked up at him. James stood up and offered her a hand. She looked at it skeptically. "You expect me to trust you after that?" she asked.

"Come on Lily, I won't do it again," he said.

Lily put out her hand and James pulled her to her feet. She pulled her arms protectively over her stomach as he drew nearer to her. "James," she said warningly.

"I said that I wouldn't do it again, and I always keep my promises, do I not?" he smiled at her.

He had a point. He always did keep his promises to her. Lily slowly removed her arms from her stomach. "So what do you want to do today?" James asked as he wrapped his arms around Lily.

Lily shrugged again. "I dunno," she replied as she leaned back into him.

"You have to give me something to work with here," James said as he rested his chin on her head.

Lily sighed. "I don't want to do anything special. I just want to spend my day with you," she said.

"Oh so spending time with me isn't special?" he said, sounding offended.

Lily pretended to think it over. "No, not really," she decided.

James moved his hands over her stomach. "You sure about that?"

Lily changed her answer quickly and James smiled. "Thought you'd change your mind," he whispered as he kissed her neck lovingly.

Lily closed her eyes as James' hands caressed her hips and lower back. She reached her hands back and started pulling at James' hair, loving how soft it was between her fingers. He lightly nipped her neck lightly and Lily felt a shiver run down her spine. She slowly turned around in James' grasp and was greeted by a hungry sort of kiss. Lily kissed him back and felt herself being lowered down to the mountain of pillows that were on the bed below.

Lily screamed into James' mouth as the room was illuminated by a flash of lightning and their house shook with the roll of thunder. James groaned as Lily wiggled out of his grasp and went to look out of the window in their room. "Lily it's just a bit of..."

Lily screamed and clapped her hand to her mouth. James ran over to the window and saw what she was looking at. Their favorite willow tree with the thick branches that kept them hidden from view when they didn't want to be seen was covered with orange flames from the lightning bolt's intense heat. "Shit..." was all James could say as they stood their, frozen in place, as their backyard continued to burn.

"We have to do something!" called Lily as she finally started to move to the bedroom door.

James dashed after her. "You stay inside, I'll take care of it," he told her as he grabbed his wand and threw on a t-shirt.

Lily sat on the couch in the living room and watched as James calmed the blazing fire and used a simple Herbology spell to fix most of the damaged branches. He came back inside, soaked from the rain. "How bad is it?" asked Lily as James shook out his hair.

"I don't think that we are going to be able to hide near it anymore, all of the branches are pretty much gone. I fixed it the best that I could," James said as he removed his shirt to wring it out.

Lily smiled lightly. "I'll bring you down another shirt," she said.

"Thanks," James replied. "Bring me another pair of shorts while you're at it."

Lily nodded and went up the stairs.

Six hours later Lily found herself looking at a sleepy James who was stretching and getting ready to cook her breakfast for her birthday. He kissed her and left her to take her shower and get dressed as he busied himself in the kitchen.

Lily kept her ears and nose on the alert for any sound that James was having troubles or any smells that James was having troubles. Surprisingly, she didn't detect any. She peeked out of the bathroom wearing her fluffy white towel and saw James smiling at her from their bed. "I thought you were making breakfast," Lily said as she ran over to her dresser and grabbed something to wear.

"I already did," James said casually, watching Lily walk across the room in her fluffy towel.

Lily left the door cracked open so she could talk to James as she was changing. "Really? What, may I ask, are we having for breakfast?" she asked as she slid into her skirt and pink shirt.

"It's a surprise," James said as he approached the bathroom door. Lily exited just as he reached it, fully clothed, and much to his disappointment.

"I like surprises," Lily said as she walked past James and down the stairs.

James caught her around the waist on the last step. "Happy birthday," he whispered in her ear as he walked with her into the kitchen.

Lily saw a stack of pancakes sitting in the middle of the table along with a thin, tall, wrapped, gift. She looked curiously at it, but James told her to eat and open it later.

"I must say," Lily said as she finished her last pancake, "you out did yourself with breakfast."

"Awww...thanks Lily flower," James said as he handed her the thin gift.

Lily opened it and saw an odd looking plant. "What is it?" she asked.

"It is a specially designed willow tree. It grows ten times as fast as a normal willow and its branches will be covered in white lilies," James said.

"It's wonderful James!" said Lily.

James gave her a kiss. "Do you want to plant it?" he asked her.

Lily nodded, slightly speechless. "When will it be big enough to sit under?" she smiled.

"With a special charm to speed it's growing even more....about eight this evening," he said.

Lily smiled as she walked out of the back door. "Where should we put it?" she asked.

James shrugged. "You get a perfect view of the sunset on that little hill right there," he said.

Lily nodded. "You're right. Come on, let's go!" she said enthusiastically.

James raised his wand in preparation to magically create a hole in the ground to place the tree in, but Lily suddenly stopped him. "Can we do this the muggle way?" she asked.

James gave her a questioning look. "What? Like dig with shovels and get all dirty?"

Lily nodded. "It'll be fun," she smiled as she summoned a few shovels.

James shrugged and started to dig with Lily.

Before they knew it, they were both sweaty and dirty. Lily wiped her brow as she and James finished packing in the dirt around the tree. James preformed an automatic watering charm as well as the super growth charm on the little tree. Lily grabbed his hand when he was done and started running down the hill. "Where are we going?" James asked.

Lily slowed down a bit and muttered something, pointing her wand at the puddle a few yards in front of them. James saw it magically expand and smiled as he understood what Lily was doing. Lily smiled back as she began running toward the pond that had previously been a rain puddle. They counted to three and jumped in, hand in hand.

Lily let out a sigh as she floated over to James who was relaxing in the refreshing water. He smiled at her and moved her wet red hair behind her ears as she reached him. James smiled as he kissed her softly on the lips. Lily kissed him back, outlining his lips with her tongue. James pulled her closer to him as his tongue met hers and felt her hands go to his wet hair.

A chill ran up Lily's spine as one of James' cold hands found its way under the back of her shirt causing her to press herself closer against him. He massaged her lower back as she continued to play in his messy hair. She felt him pulling her shirt up when she pulled away slightly. "James, we're outside," she gasped.

"So, the Rileys are on vacation, and little old Miss Rolder is too old to walk to her back window," said James referring to their neighbors.

Lily pulled her shirt back down. "Still James, we are outside," she said.

"You never said that under the willow tree," he said, grinning.

"That is because nothing could ever make its way through or see through the branches of the willow tree. I would feel kind of exposed out in the open," she blushed.

James sighed and nodded. "I guess your right," he said as he led her out of the pond.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked him as he pulled her out.

"We have to shower if we want to make our lunch reservations in Hogsmead at one," James said as he picked her up and carried her off to the house.

James lunch reservations ended up being a cover up for what they were really doing. Instead of going to a restaurant James took her to the Shrieking Shack for an indoor picnic like he had done for Valentine's Day the year before.

It turned out to be a disaster, much to James' dismay. He had forgotten to fix one thing in the Shrieking Shack: the holes in the roof. It had started storming again and they both got completely drenched in rain water.

That was the least of it.

A sound started to echo in the distance that made Lily panic. She remembered the sound from when she was a small child. It was loud and whenever she heard it she always remembered what had happened the first time she had heard it. She had been five at the time when she first heard the deafening noise. She had gone outside to see what it was with her cat Ginger in her arms. The winds were strong and Ginger became deathly afraid and ran out of Lily's arms just as her father pulled her down into the cellar of their house. She never saw poor Ginger again.

James had never heard the echoing sound before and had a hard time understanding why Lily had forced them to go into the cellar of the shack and why she wouldn't let him go back upstairs to check it out.

Lily explained to him what was happening and James looked out of the small window in the cellar of the shack to see that the sky was a nasty color and rain was pouring all over the place. He had a new word added to his vocabulary that day: tornado.

After an hour of Lily's panicking, the tornado passed and they apparated straight home, thankful that their house hadn't been effected by the storm.

James held Lily on the couch, apologizing for the terrible day when Lily kissed him. "James, it really is okay. Worse things could have happened and you know it," she said.

"Yeah, but still, it didn't turn out the way I wanted to," James sighed.

"There have been many things that haven't turned out they way you wanted to. Honestly, where would we be if everything had turned out the way that we wanted them to?" Lily asked.

James thought for a moment. "Well you would have started dating be back in our third year, I would have scored higher on my OWLs and NEWTs, neither of our parents would be dead, Amy wouldn't be dead, Rose would be hugging and kissing us, and you would be holding our new born baby boy," sighed James, smiling at Lily.

"If only we could be in control over our lives, but we can't. We have to take what comes our way, whether we like it or not," said Lily as a tear rolled down her face. "What do you think Rose would be doing right now?"

James sighed as he felt tears build up behind his eyes. "Sitting here with us in front of the fire place, maybe playing with your hair or my glasses," he said.

"I wish she was still here with us James," Lily said as she curled up into him.

"Me too Lily, me too, but what happened, happened and we can't change that," he said as he squeezed her shoulders.

"I know," she replied weakly.

"How about we go get some tea?" James suggested, leading Lily to the kitchen.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"So Peter decided to bring a friend along with him?" Lily inquired as they walked into Remus' living room.

James nodded. "Supposedly they met at a Quidditch match a few weeks ago. He said that he had never met a girl so enthusiastic about Quidditch before."

"It is about time that Peter got himself a girlfriend," commented Lily, softly.

James saw Sirius' face in the back window. He waved them to go out back and then disappeared. "Peter said that they are just good friends," James said as he opened the sliding glass door to the back porch.

"Well I can see why," said Lily as she spotted who must have been Peter's friend.

James cringed. "Ikes, he could have done better than that," he said.

Peter's friend was unusually tall and skinny, with long black hair and reddish eyes. Lily nervously approached where the stranger and the rest of the group was standing around the fire pit. "Lily! James! You made it!" said Remus.

"This is Peter's friend Veronica," said Sirius, shivering slightly.

"Pleased to meet you," Veronica said in a spine chilling voice.

James shivered as he shook her cold bony hand. "James Potter and this is my wife Lily," James said wrapping a protective arm around Lily for some reason.

Lily nodded in Veronica's direction, avoiding her eyes and not shaking her hand. "Let's sit down," Remus said, motioning to the plastic white table a few yards away from where they were standing.

It was probably the most James had ever lied in his whole life. There was something he didn't like about Veronica and he wasn't about to tell her the truth about all of the personal questions that she was asking. He received odd looks from his friends, but Lily supported him and lied right along with him.

By the end of the meal they had created a whole new life for themselves. They were currently living in an apartment just outside of London where James worked at a near by Quidditch shop (originally he had said he was a security person for the Ministry of Magic, but Veronica said that she had seen his name in the papers for being some sort of Quidditch star so James had to change his story), Lily worked as a waitress at a restaurant in the city (he had received a hard kick for that one), they had a cat named Rose, and they were waiting to adopt a child from China as they couldn't have children on their own.

It was semi-believable, but James had to think really hard to come up with everything and remember it all. Lily never spoke at all, apparently not happy with this mock-life that James had created for them. Sirius had almost started laughing in the middle of dinner, but Remus had stopped him, obviously understanding what James was doing.

The conversations turned to Veronica, courtesy of Sirius. Her story was undoubtedly made up, but James had to give her a point for her excellent lying skills, if he wasn't a Marauder, he wouldn't have known at all that her story was made up. Sirius wasn't falling for it and James could tell that Remus wasn't either.

She had grown up in London, attended Hogwarts, became Head Girl, won a special services award to the school, got a criminal sent to Azkaban, started Auror training, and was now living in London by her own lonesome self. Load of B.S. according to James.

Lily and James offered to clear the table for Remus as he always made a point of doing it when he was at their house. James carried the plates and Lily carried the cups and cutlery. Once they were safe inside of the kitchen Lily threw James a look. "A waitress at a restaurant huh?" she said.

James shrugged. "We had to back up why we were living in an apartment, and to do that we needed low paying jobs. Besides, I like picturing you in one of those barely-there uniforms," he winked, kissing her cheek.

Lily rolled her eyes. "I don't like her James," she said as she magically cleaned the dishes.

"There is something strange about her, I'll give you that," said James as he whisked the cutlery into their proper drawers.

"I think that we should leave," Lily whispered.

"Come on Lily, we can't let her ruin our evening," said James.

"She already has," grumbled Lily.

"Well I haven't seen everybody in weeks," complained James as he rubbed Lily's shoulders.

She glared at him. "And I have?"

"Well you saw Remus," James offered.

"James, I think we should go," she stated again.

"But it will be fun here," he said.

Lily raked her mind for some way that she could get them out of this little get together. She put on her little mischievous smile. "We could have fun at home too," she said as she kissed him.

It worked. Ten minutes later they were safe at home, under the refuge of the blue quilt on their bed.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"I swear my lord! It was them who lied! Not me! What I tell you is true! They don't live in an apartment!" Peter shrieked.

"How can I trust that you aren't covering for your friends?" Voldemort asked.

"My loyalty lies with you my lord," Peter said, bowing to his master.

"I have to give you credit for the disguise, it was pretty good," Voldemort said.

"They will never suspect anything, my lord," said Peter.

"When is the next of these get together things?" asked Voldemort.

"The week after next at my place, why?"

"It would be rather strange if you only brought your friends to one of these little parties now wouldn't it? Besides the Potters left so soon, I didn't get to know enough about the family I have been mercilessly torturing," Voldemort smiled.

A/N- I think that that was one of my longest chapters!!! Anyway, I hope you liked it!! I don't know how long it is going to be until I post again, but I would like to thank you all for reviewing this fic so much and showing so much support. (211 reviews, are you guys the best or what!!!!) I would like to ask you all for a favor. Recently I have started an account on under the same pen name, TearFromABlueRose ) and I would really appreciate it if you would take the time to read and possibly review some of my original story ideas. I would recommend Unseen Hero, Tear From A Blue Rose (them poem that I made up to go along with my pen name), and My Unseen Hero (the poem my fic Unseen Hero is based off of). Well I hope that you will check them out if you get a free second, I need some support on Thanks! Till next post.......


	44. Hope

**A/N- Now we are really going to start picking up the pace with this fic. It should come to an end sometime soon, hopefully. I am writing an alternate ending so don't despair. **

June (1 month later)

"There is too much sitting and waiting for me."

"For the thousandth time Avery, shut up!"

"I still don't understand why we have to trick people to leave their house just so we can get in. I mean- honestly Rosier- couldn't we just bust their door down any old time, kill them, and be gone?" complained Avery, abandoning his crouched position to fully sit on the marble floor.

"That would cause too much of an uproar. And for the last time, get into your ready position! Remember as soon as..."

"As soon as you sit on your bum your brain turns off," Avery finished as he resumed his previous position.

"Although I don't think it really makes a difference in your case," Rosier muttered under his breath.

"What?" snapped Avery.

"Sh! Someone is coming!" Rosier whispered as he raised his wand. "Remember, no skrew ups!"

Avery nodded as the door to the muggle family's house began to open.

"I c-c-can't believe it Vernon!" a woman said excitedly.

"We finally got what we have been waiting for Poppy!" said the man.

"I can't wait to see Lily's face when she finds out! She will be so jealous that we are going to have a child!" the woman sang as she handed her coat off to her husband.

"Do you even want her to be part of our child's life? I mean she is a..." the man's voice trailed off.

"Well I guess mother will tell her. You're right, we should keep out of her life to keep her out of ours," the woman said.

Avery looked over at Rosier. Their eyes met, both sharing the same thought. They weren't at the right house. They were supposed to be at the home of an older muggle couple's home.

"What do we do?" Avery mouthed to Rosier.

Rosier rolled her eyes and vanished with a crack. Avery's mouth formed and 'o' and disapparated out of the house.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"You idiot!" Rosier screamed as Avery appeared in front of him.

"What? What did I do?" Avery said as he ducked under Rosier's clenched fist.

"What do you mean what? You took us to the wrong house!" Rosier screamed.

"I'll get it right next time," Avery shrugged.

Rosier shook his head. "You're doing this job alone- tonight," he said before disapparating.

Avery groaned as he slumped into the chair behind him. '_Great,'_ he thought _'just great.'_

5 months later (November)

James kissed Lily's stomach lovingly as they sat together on the couch, surrounded by wrapping paper left over from James' 21st birthday party. "So what do you think we are going to have this time, Lils? Boy or a girl?" asked James as he looked into Lily's eyes.

Lily laughed, "James it is too early to tell."

"When can we find out," he asked.

"Not until January or so," Lily answered as she closed her eyes.

"I hope it's a boy," sighed James.

"What makes you say that?" Lily asked, as she stroked his hair.

James shrugged. "I want to teach him to play Quidditch and stuff," he said.

Lily laughed. "A boy would be nice," she mused.

James glanced on the clock on the wall. "I don't know about you, but I'm tired," he sighed.

Lily yawned. "Let's get some sleep," she said as she closed her eyes.

James laughed at her. "I'm sleeping upstairs thank you very much," he said.

"I'm too tired to walk upstairs," Lily said as she looked over at James.

James laughed as he picked her up off of the couch. "I spoil you too much," he sighed as he walked up the stairs with Lily in his arms.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

2 months later (January)

"Look on the bright side Lils, it's going to be a boy," James smiled supportively as they snuggled together on their bed.

Lily had her arms crossed on her chest with tears in her eyes. "I know James, but you heard what else they said," she sighed, her voice wavering.

"A lot of women have trouble during their first few months," James said, holding her tighter.

"I didn't have this trouble with Rose," Lily sighed.

"It's not so bad Lils," he said, running out of things to say.

"They said that I have to spend the next two months in bed James," she said angrily.

James sighed. "It's for the best, and besides, I'll be here with you," he said rubbing her shoulders.

Lily smiled softly. "That might help a bit," she decided.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

2 weeks later

"James, I am going insane!" Lily screamed.

James sighed as he walked into the room with her lunch. "I know," he said as he sat down with her.

"There has got to be an alternative! I have got to get out of this bed!" Lily complained.

James shrugged. "They did say that this was one of the ways that could help, maybe there were more," he said.

Lily pondered this as she ate her bowl of pasta. "I'd give anything to get out of bed at this point in time," she declared.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"You have to understand that this method only works eighty percent of the time," the Healer informed Lily.

Lily nodded. "I can't stand sitting in bed all day," she pleaded.

The Healer looked at James. "I suggest that you both take some time to consider what you are risking. Not only may it not work to the full effect, it can cause you some difficulties during birth," she said.

"Lily, please, don't do it," James said, looking at her.

"I need to James, I'll die anyway laying in bed all day," she said, exasperatedly.

James sighed. "Fine, fine," he said.

Lily sighed. "James, it will work sweetie. In four and a half months we will have a healthy baby boy," she declared, trying to push away the nagging feeling in her stomach. "Trust me."

James sighed again. "I trust you."

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

James couldn't sleep that night. Why had he let Lily take that medication? True, she would be able to walk around as much as she pleased without hurting his unborn son, but he couldn't help but worry about her. What if it didn't work at all and their son died during birth? What if something happened to Lily? He wouldn't be able to take it if something happened to Lily. What if his son lived and Lily....didn't? Would he be able to look at his son every day for the rest of his life? Or would he hate his son for taking away his wife's life?

James rubbed his head as he rolled over in bed. All he could do now was live life and hope for the best. How can you hope for the best when nothing but horrible things has happened to you? James tried to find a last shred of hope, something to hold onto and believe that something in his life could go right. Everything has been going wrong. So many deaths, so many heart breaks, too many tears cried from his and Lily's eyes. Finding hope was near impossible, but he needed to find it somehow. He needed to believe that something can go right.

July 31st

James found himself, again pacing around the waiting room at St. Mungo's at two in the morning, waiting for a Healer to tell him that he could see his son and wife. His son's name was going to be Harry, Harry James. It was the only name that Lily and James could fully agree on together.

James was relieved that this day had finally come. He would finally have a son to take home and spoil. They could have their family back. James had been waiting for this day for what seemed like centuries. Now it was finally here. Now his family would be complete again. He could go home with a son to play with and teach to play Quidditch in the back yard. He would have his wife to sit with and watch their son grow up and cheer him on at his first Quidditch game.

A Healer appeared in the empty hall and smiled at James. He looked at her and took a step forward. "Well?" he asked.

The Healer smiled. "They are both going to be fine!" she said.

James sighed and walked into the hospital room where Lily was laying on a bed, looking exhausted. She smiled weakly at him as James looked over to where the Healers were cleaning off their son.

"Would you like to hold him?" a blonde haired Healer asked James.

James nodded, incapable of speech. His son was wrapped in a blue checkered blanket. James held him in his arms and found him surprisingly light. He moved aside the part of the blanket that was blocking Harry's face from view. "We'll leave you three alone," the Healer said with a sinister smile that James failed to notice.

He gasped as his son's face was revealed. He had his messy black hair and funny shaped ears. James smiled as he saw Harry's bright green eyes which looked exactly like Lily's. James had seen him before, but where?

He was the boy.

The boy that saved Rose in his dream. James stared at his son slightly shocked. Lily was never going to believe this. He walked over to her bedside, still looking down at Harry. "Lily," he said leaning Harry so she could see him, "you were right, that boy was our son. And look, he has your eyes."

James looked up from Harry's face and onto Lily's. Her eyes were closed. James looked at her quizzically; she had been awake just a minute ago. Something was wrong, she wasn't breathing.

A/N- As you can see, things are happening a LOT faster now!!!!! Don't know when I am going to be able to update again so yeah....hope you liked the chapter....hope you liked they cliffy!!!


	45. Into the West

James just stared at her for a second before he realized that the problem was not going to fix itself on its own. He almost tripped over his numb feet as he went over to put Harry in the cradle at the end of Lily's bed. He darted across the room and slammed his hand on the door knob and twisted it up and down. It was locked. He frantically emptied the pockets of his robe and groaned remembering a previous conversation he had with a Healer.

_"Sorry Mr. Potter, we are going to have to ask you for your wand," the Healer said. _

_"Sure, no problem, just show me to my wife!" _

Liza. That had been the Healer's name. James assumed that she was Lily's designated Healer as she had been at all of their appointments. He reached for the buzzer on Lily's bedside table and pressed it. Nothing happened. He flipped it over to find that the whole back had been torn off, revealing the wires inside which were all damaged in some way or another.

James looked over at Lily. He sighed slightly as he saw her chest moving slightly in an awkward pattern. How long would she last like this? He groaned as he checked her weakening pulse. There was no doubt that this was a set up. Something was done to Lily when she was giving birth_. 'Or the medication was tampered with that Liza gave her to help Harry stay healthy inside of her,' _James thought.

He clenched his fist as tears began to stream down his face. Why was this happening to him? His hand slid into his back pocket and he pulled out a square mirror. He always carried this mirror around with him. But...would Sirius have the other one? It was his only chance. James raised the mirror in front of his face and called out to Sirius.

No one came into view. James threw the mirror onto the bed with frustration. "James?" called a weak voice.

James' head snapped around. "Lily?" he asked, holding her hand.

Lily tried to breath in more air. "Why is everything moving?" she asked.

"Are you alright?" James asked her urgently.

"I can't....breath...." her eyes closed again and her hand fell out of James'.

James put his hands to his head. "What am I going to do?" he asked angrily.

Lily was still breathing. He had sometime, but there wasn't anything he could do. So he spent his time ripping the drawers out of the cabinets searching for something to use. The floor was soon littered with spilt potions and strange sharp tools that James didn't even want to think about what they were used for.

He ran across a slip of paper in one of the filing cabinets and stopped his aimless rampaging to read it.

_Mr. Potter,_

_Hope you are having fun with your family, I doubt you'll get to spend time with them again. Don't' worry, you'll have plenty of time to say good by to her. There is no way to get out and no potions present in the room that can cure your helpless wife. She killed herself, that day that she tried to save her son, we had nothing to do with it. Ta!_

_-Liza _

James pocketed the note, figuring that if he ever got out he could have it finger printed. The note did clarify one of his suspicions, the medication to save Harry was hurting Lily and he had no idea how to stop it. He looked longingly at the mirror on the bed. Why wouldn't Sirius answer?

He tried again and called into the mirror. Nothing happened. James jumped as he saw Lily's hand move. He had to keep her awake, no matter what. He went over to the sink and dampened a washcloth to place on Lily's forehead. James pulled her long red waves away from her face and over her left shoulder. He changed the dirty sheet that was laying under her and replaced it with a clean one that he had thrown on the floor earlier. He changed the washcloth frequently and held Harry in his arms.

"See? This is your mother, Harry..." James started. He introduced them and talked to Harry about her, but after a while he found himself talking about Lily for his own benefit.

"She looks beautiful every second of every day, even now as we speak. I used to stare at her during History of Magic, wondering what she was thinking about and why she tortured me with her amazing body swaying temptingly in front of me. The first time we kissed was amazing. I remember being speechless after that kiss..." James laughed as tears rolled down his face and fell onto Harry's. "She loves you, you know. Even though she has never held you in her arms she loves you. She loved you before you were born, before you were conceived. She loved you without even knowing she loved you. She loves everyone in this world. That's just the kind of person she is. She loves everyone..."

James looked down at Harry and found his big green eyes staring at him. James smiled. "You have her eyes. You will always have her eyes, a memory of the love she had for the world. You could always tell who she loved by how her eyes looked. You have her eyes and her love for the world," he said.

He adjusted Harry in his arms so he could place him safely into Lily's. James moved her arms so that they were coiled around her son. He saw her arms tighten slightly around Harry as she felt him being placed in her arms.

James gently tried to shake Lily awake so she could see her son. She stirred slightly, but did not awaken. Her breathing was starting to return to normal, or at least it seemed it was. He found himself suddenly exhausted, but he knew he couldn't fall asleep. What if Lily needed him?

His eyes wandered to the window that was in the room. He walked over to it and tried the lock, not expecting anything to happen. It moved easily and unlocked. James was afraid to open the window. There was something wrong with it. He drew in a breath and opened the window, clenching his eyes shut. Nothing happened. Maybe it was sensitive to touch. He grabbed one of the sharp objects on the floor and tossed it out of the window.

Bad idea.

The sharp object came hurtling back into the room, puncturing the wall on the opposite side of the room. At least he used his common sense and hadn't stepped out of the window. But, he was still stuck here with his son and dying wife.

He heard Lily let out a gasp. James whirled around and saw that her eyes were open and looking at Harry. Tears were running down her face as her hands touched his face lovingly. "Is this our son James?" she asked, barely over a whisper.

James nodded as he rushed to her side. Lily cried even harder. "What's wrong?" he asked as he stroked her hair.

"It's a shame that someone so beautiful will have to grow up without a mother to care for him," she sobbed as she touched his face.

James shook his head. "You'll be fine Lily," he said.

"Don't you lie to me James Potter! You know that I am going to die, you know it," she cried angrily looking at him.

"No you're not Lily, you are going to be perfectly fine," he assured her.

"Then why do I feel like shit? Don't lie to me James!" she screamed.

"We are all going to be fine," said James.

"Then why aren't we? I can't breath, this room is torn apart, Harry is going to grow up without a mother, and you are going to die without a wife," she sobbed.

James shook his head again. "We'll get out of here," he said.

Lily closed her eyes. "She told me you know," she said.

James stared at her. "Who told you what?" he asked.

"Liza. She told me that I was going to die. She told me that she wouldn't let us out of this room," Lily said.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me before?" James yelled.

Lily wiped the tears from her eyes. "She threatened me James," she said.

"With what?" he asked her.

"She said that if I told you she would make me watch you and Harry die. She said that she would make me kill you both and then she would set me free," Lily cried, avoiding James' eyes.

"Do you still have your wand, by any chance?" James asked her.

Lily shook her head and pointed to the floor by her bed. "She snapped it in half and threw it down there," she said.

James picked up the two pieces along with a role of spell-o-tape. "James, it won't work, she took part of it with her. She made escaping from here impossible. Why can't you accept that?" Lily asked.

"You mean you want me to do nothing and let us all die?" he asked.

"No, but there is nothing to do, nothing can get us out of here," Lily sobbed.

"Where is our hope? What happened to holding on until the end? What happened to trying everything before giving up?" he screamed.

Lily cried harder. "I don't know James! I just want to go home and watch Harry go to Hogwarts and feel your lips against mine again!" she screamed.

James threw himself at the door to the room again. The glass broke and repaired itself again. He stood up and rubbed his shoulder as he kicked over a filing cabinet. Harry started to cry from all of the noise his father was creating. "James, what are you trying to do?" Lily screamed.

"I don't know!" James replied as he continued to destroy the room with angry tears rolling down his face. "All I know is I love you and want to save you from this...this...freakish place that we are in!"

Lily's sobbing echoed throughout the room as James sat on the floor with his head in his hands. "James, get up here!" she yelled from her bed.

James looked at her helplessly and pulled himself off of the ground. He dragged his feet over to her bed and flopped down on it. "I'm so tired," he moaned into the pillow.

Lily drew in a shaky breath and began to sing.

"_Lay down  
__Your sweet and weary head  
__Night is fallen  
__You have come to journey's end  
__  
Sleep now  
__Dream-of the ones who came before  
__They are calling  
__From across a distant shore  
__  
Why do you weep?  
__What are these tears upon your face?  
__Soon you will see  
__All of your fears will pass away_

_Safe in my arms  
__You're only sleeping_

_What can you see  
__On the horizon?  
__Why do the white gulls call?_

_Across the sea  
__A pale moon rises  
__The ships have come  
__To carry you home_

_And all will turn to silver glass  
__A light on the water  
__All souls pass_

_Hope fades  
__Into the world of night  
__Through shadows falling  
__Out of memory and time_

_Don't say  
__We have come now to the end  
__White shores are calling  
__You and I will meet again_

_And you'll be here in my arms  
__Just sleeping_

_What can you see  
__On the horizon?  
__Why do the white gulls call?_

_Across the sea  
__A pale moon rises  
__The ships have come  
__To carry you home_

_And all will turn to silver glass  
__A light on the water  
__Grey ships pass  
__Into the west..."_

Lily saw James fall off into a deep sleep. She placed Harry between them and kissed his forehead lovingly as he slept. She scooted down on her pillows and looked up at the spotted ceiling. She sang to herself:

"_Why do you weep?  
__What are these tears upon your face?  
__Soon you will see  
__All of your fears will pass away_

_Safe in my arms  
__You're only sleeping"_

She closed her eyes and let her exhaustion consume her.

The door quietly squeaked open and a tall slender shadow was cast in the room.

"_Across the sea  
__A pale moon rises  
__The ships have come  
__To carry you home," _the man standing in the doorway sang as he stepped further into the room. "It is time for you all to come home," the man smiled as he tucked his long white beard into his belt before grabbing his wand.

A/N- No idea how many chapters are left, but hopefully I will be able to take this whole story when I finally finish and condense it into half the amount of chapters. As I said, this fic will start to move really fast. Leave me a review!!

Song was 'Into the West' from Lord of the Rings Return of the King.


	46. Just Go

Lily smiled and felt a tear roll down her cheek as she watched James laid Harry into his crib for the night. Harry looked so much like his father already, at just one month old. He had James' messy black hair, his mischievous grin, his ears, his...everything. The only thing that Lily shared with her son was her eyes. They had the same bright green eyes. Harry's eyes, like her own, possessed a warm feeling, a feeling of curiosity, a feeling of undying love. She could look into his eyes and feel how much he loved her and how much she loved him back, the way James said he could always feel the love Lily possessed for him when they looked at each other.

James closed the door lightly behind him and walked over to Lily who was leaning against the wall in the hallway. He kissed her lightly on the forehead as he stopped in front of her with his hands in hers. "Why the tears?" he asked her lightly as he wiped the tears off of her cheek with his warm hands.

Lily shrugged. "I am so happy that things are finally going right for us. We are both alive, we have a beautiful son, and the attacks have been slowing down," she said as she squeezed James' hands in hers.

James moved his arm around Lily's shoulder and held her close to him. "Life is looking better, isn't it?" he sighed.

Lily nodded as she leaned into James' embrace. "Do we have anything going on tomorrow?" she asked with a yawn.

"No, nothing that I can think of at least," he said as they walked into their room.

"Good, I could use a bit of a lie in tomorrow morning," she said as she slipped into her pajamas and nestled herself under the covers.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

4 months later (November)

"Look at him Lily! He smiled for me!" James said as he lifted Harry higher into the air. "Just for me on my birthday."

Lily laughed as she saw the wide grin on Harry's face. "He has your smile James," she said as she strung her arms around his waist from behind.

James lowered Harry into his arms. "You think so?"

"You flashed me your famous grin every single time you saw me starting in our 5th year. I know exactly what it looks like and I can tell you that Harry has inherited it," she laughed.

James smiled. "I suppose that you're right," he said as he looked back at Harry.

"So what do you want to do for your birthday?" Lily asked as she kissed the side of his cheek.

James shrugged. "Stick around here and hang with you and Harry I suppose," he said.

Lily laughed. "Okay, so what do you want to do around here?" she asked as she took Harry into her arms.

James shrugged again. "I dunno, the weather is kind of brutal," he said as he looked out of the frosted window.

Lily sighed. "I know what you mean. It looks like we are in for a big storm," she said as she walked over to the frosty window.

James raised his finger and wrote the words, 'I love Lily' on the window. Lily laughed and situated Harry in her arms so she had a free arm. She raised her hand and wrote on the glass as well. "I love Harry! Hey what about me?" James asked as he read her writing.

Lily raised her hand again and added James' name after Harry's. "That better?" she asked.

James put his hand to his chin and examined Lily's handy-work. "Much," he said as he kissed her cheek. "Now how about some lunch?" he asked hopefully.

"We just ate breakfast like..."

"Like two whole hours ago!!" James complained as he led Lily by her arm to the kitchen.

"I guess you're right. What do you want?" Lily asked as she set Harry down in his high chair.

James shrugged. "I dunno," he said.

"You're hungry, but you don't know what you want. That doesn't make sense," Lily teased as she opened the fridge.

James sat down and watched Lily as she rummaged through the fridge. "What are you looking for?" he asked.

"Something to eat," she responded.

James laughed at her and waved his wand while muttering a string of words. A meal appeared on the table in front of him. Lily turned around and rolled her eyes as she threw the chicken back into the freezer. James stood up and pulled her tightly into her arms, swaying slightly next to the table. He twisted his neck so he could kiss her lightly on the lips.

Harry let out a noise and kicked his feet as his mother and father kissed. Lily broke away and blushed lightly as she leaned back into James. "I guess we should eat," James breathed into her ear.

Lily nodded as she sat next to Harry and summoned his bottle from the stove to feed him. She cast a spell on it so it could hover in front of his face so she could eat her meal. James reached into the drawer behind him and pulled out some cutlery. "Happy birthday James," Lily said as she filled the glasses with wine.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Alice! Just go! Stop trying to save me, you're just going to get yourself killed!" Frank screamed at his wife as she cradled her bruised arm.

"I can't leave knowing that you are in danger Frank!" she screamed.

Frank screamed as he was hit with a stinging hex from behind by one of the cloaked figures. "Alice! You're distracting me! Go now!"

"Frank-"

"Just go! Take Neville with you!" Frank screamed as he stunned the death eater.

Alice tried to open her mouth, but she closed it again as a tear slid down her cheek. "Fine, I'll go," she said finally.

Frank nodded as she turned away from him. "Alice!" he called to her as he reached out to grab her arm.

She turned around with tears rolling down her face. "I love you Alice. No matter what happens, I will always love you," he said.

Alice nodded and opened her mouth to speak. "I-I-I love you too," she said before she kissed him lightly on the cheek.

A streak of red light hit the vase that was sitting on the end table next to them. "GO! NOW!" he screamed as he let go of his wife.

Alice ran up the stairs and into the nursery where her son slept peacefully. She stroked his soft brown hair lightly before she picked him up, kissing his chubby cheek. Alice cradled him in blankets and apparated out of her home.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Dumbledore just said to watch over him until Frank and Alice came back," Lily repeated to James again as she looked down at the chubby child in her arms.

She smiled into his chocolate brown eyes as he stared up at her with a blank look on his face. "How long do you think that they are going to be in trouble for?" James asked.

Lily shrugged. "What we should be asking ourselves is why they were attacked in the first place," she said as Neville's eyes began to close slightly.

James shrugged. "They were part of the Order," he suggested.

Lily shook her head. "As far as we know, Voldemort doesn't know about the Order," she said. "There has to be another reason."

James shrugged and was about to speak when Dumbledore apparated into their bedroom. Lily looked at him intently, reading his glum expression. "They didn't....die...did they?" she asked lightly, looking into his eyes.

Dumbledore shook his head. Lily sighed. "Thank goodness, form the look on your face I thought they had," she said as she looked down at Neville.

"No, they aren't dead, much worse than that. They were tortured to insanity as far as we can see," Dumbledore sighed.

"What about Neville?" James asked as he looked at the child his wife was holding.

"I was hoping that he could stay with you until his grandmother finds a place big enough to raise him," Dumbledore said.

Lily nodded. "Yes, we'll take him in," she said.

Dumbledore smiled at them. "I do have a bit of good news, I think," he said as he thoughtfully touched the petals of the rose that was sitting on Lily's dresser.

James looked at him intently. "Go on," he said.

"I can't tell you now, I don't want to get your hopes up," he said with a twinkle in his eyes before he disapparated.

James pounded his fists on his pillow. "Why? Why can't he tell us?" James asked.

Lily shrugged, her eyes still fixed on her dresser. "What?" James asked as he saw what she was staring at.

Lily shook her head. "Nothing, I thought I saw him...never mind," she said as she stood up with Neville in her arms.

"He can stay in the play pen that Harry naps in," she said as she left the room.

James nodded and stood up to put his pajamas on. He looked over at Lily's dresser, his eyes fixed on the rose that Dumbledore had been fiddling with. He shook his head lightly before climbing into bed. Lily strolled in a few minutes later, her pajamas on and her tooth brush in her mouth. He watched as she turned the light on in the bathroom to finish brushing her teeth.

She stopped for a few seconds to stare at the flower sitting on her dresser. She touched the petals lightly before dropping her head and turning to the bed. Lily slid under the covers with a heavy sigh. "It is going to be hard taking care of two young children," she said.

"They are exactly the same age," James commented.

Lily nodded. "Goodnight James," she said as she closed her eyes.

James' eyes lingered yet again on the red flower. He squinted at it then turned to place his arms around Lily. He found her eyes open, staring at the flower as well. "Goodnight, Lils," he said as he nestled into her flaming red hair.

A/N- Sorry about the long wait and short chapter. I promise that they will get better. I really need to ask a favor from all of you. I posted a one shot fic that shows a version of how Lily and James spent their last day "This Day." This is just a little bit of an idea that I am having for a the last chapter to Fate. I need ways to make it better and stuff to put it in this fic, and no, it isn't exactly the same, the real thing will be much more dramatic. I would appreciate it if you could read it and voice your opinion in a review. Remember, it can only get better if you tell me what you liked and didn't like about it. Thanks in advance!!


	47. Guess Who

Lily looked down into the playpen that Neville was laying in. His eyes were wide open, filled with fear. There was something wrong with him, he never slept or smiled. Lily would rock him for hours, trying to get him to go to sleep, but he wouldn't. He always looked afraid and on the brink of crying, and yet he never cried.

James walked up behind her and slid his arms around her waist. "Harry just went down for a nap," he said as he yawned lightly.

"Neville won't sleep," Lily sighed.

"Maybe we should leave the room," James suggested.

Lily nodded. "Yeah, he might be afraid of people, besides Dumbledore said that he was going to drop by soon, and we don't want to miss him," she said as she left the room.

Her hand hesitated over the light switch, debating on whether to turn them out or not. "He might get freaked out," James said.

Lily nodded and pulled the door halfway shut behind her. She walked down the stairs with James and found Dumbledore sitting in their kitchen. "There you are!" he said cheerily.

James smiled. "We had to put Neville and Harry down for a nap."

"How is Neville doing?" Dumbledore asked, still smiling.

Lily sighed. "He never sleeps and his eyes are always filled with pure terror."

"Then I guess he will be glad to know that his parents are recovering and will be able to take him home in a week," Dumbledore said.

Lily and James smiled. "That is good news," he said.

"I am still worried about Neville though," Lily said.

Dumbledore nodded. "He'll be fine after he returns to his parents. It is normal for the victims of Voldemort to feel fear after he comes for a visit," he said.

"But he only seems to look extremely afraid when he sees me, when I look at him," Lily said.

"He is fine around me," James added.

"Well you see, Voldemort has a favorite curse that he likes to use on his victims, one that produces a flash of green light when it is cast. This particular shade of green resembles the color of your eyes, Lily," Dumbledore said.

Lily paused for a minute. "What?" she asked.

"From what I have heard from the neighbors of the Longbottom's, there were quite a few flashes of green light seen through the windows. Neville probably saw a few of these lights and got scared by them, like any young child would," Dumbledore explained.

"I see," Lily said as she looked down at the ground. "Would that also be a reason as to why Neville will scoot away from Harry when they are near each other?" she asked.

It was James who spoke this time. "I noticed that as well. He does have your eyes," he said.

Dumbledore nodded. "That would probably be the reason," he said.

"Was there anything else you needed to tell us?" asked Lily remembering the night that Dumbledore had dropped Neville off.

Dumbledore nodded. "But now is not the time. I am still unsure about how it will turn out, or if what I have heard is true. It might be a trap set up by the enemy and I don't want to risk it or get your hopes up over nothing," he said with a slight frown.

James nodded. "Will you tell us as soon as you know?" he asked.

Dumbledore nodded. "I will tell you. Hopefully I will know when I come to pick up Neville to bring back to his parent's house," he said.

Lily and James both nodded. "I guess we'll see you later then," James said as he shook Dumbledore's hand.

Dumbledore nodded as he apparated out of their kitchen. James looked over at Lily. "I guess we have to switch child duties then," he laughed nervously as he ran his hand through his hair.

Lily nodded and sighed as she felt a slight burning in her eyes. "I guess so. Harry and I will leave you and Neville alone," she said as she looked down at the ground.

James looked at her curiously before he pulled his hand to her face and propped up her chin. "Why the tears, flower?" he asked as he used his thumb to wipe away a tear that was winding its way down her cheek.

"Nothing, I just hate to think that I was making Neville feel frightened," she said as she crossed her arms.

"It's not your fault," James said as he touched her arm.

"I've always hated my eyes, ever since Petunia told me that they made me look like a creature from outer space," she said, laughing lightly.

"I have always loved your eyes," James said.

"I know, that's what you said the first time you ever saw me," she said as she looked at him.

"You still do have the prettiest eyes I have ever seen," James smiled.

Lily frowned. "Rose's eyes were prettier than mine," she said as she looked back down at the ground.

"Lily-"

"I think you should go check on Neville, he might need something," Lily said as she walked into the living room and sat on the couch to read.

James nodded. "Yeah, I guess I should, shouldn't I," he said as he walked up the stairs to the guest bedroom where Neville was laying awake, staring at the ceiling.

James looked down at him and Neville gasped slightly and then calmed down again. James smiled at Neville who looked away from him. James reached down to pick him up with a frown on his face. There was something seriously wrong with this child. James knew that he was probably scared out of his mind and all, but still, there was something else that was bothering him. Normal children sleep, Neville didn't. What had happened to him? Supposedly Dumbledore had taken him to the hospital to make sure he was uninjured before bringing him to his house, but had the Healers possibly overlooked something?

James shook his head as he carried Neville down the stairs to get him something to eat. "Lily, what does Neville eat?" James asked as he peeked his head into the fridge.

Lily appeared in the kitchen holding their family owl on her arm. "Same bottle formula as Harry does. I think we ran out of it though, I haven't had the time to run out for more," she said.

"Who are you sending a letter to?" James asked as he used his wand to transfigure a bottle of water into a bottle of formula.

"Gloria," she answered as she opened the kitchen window.

"Why?" James asked as he offered Neville the bottle.

"I haven't seen her in a while, so I asked her if she wanted to drop by for lunch sometime," Lily said as she watched the owl fly off into the horizon.

"I see," James said simply.

There was an awkward silence. Neville continued to drink his bottle and James saw his eyes begin to close slightly. "Lily I think he is going to fall asleep," James whispered.

Lily began to walk over to him and then she stopped. "Maybe it'll be better if I just take your word for it," she smiled weakly.

James nodded as he set the bottle down on the table and started to walk up the stairs to put Neville to sleep. Lily picked up the empty bottle and walked over to the sink with it to wash it so she could use it later on that day. A breeze came through the open window and Lily paused to look out of it for a minute. Her head was resting peacefully in her hands and she felt her eye lids grow heavy.

She saw something moving on the street in front of her. It was a person wearing a black cloak standing behind the tree of their neighbor's house across the street. She recognized that black cloak from somewhere...but she couldn't remember where. Everyone was wearing black cloaks these days.

The person made her feel uneasy, as if he was watching her house. He glanced her way and she quickly pulled the drapes shut over the window. "What happened? You didn't see out queer neighbor again did you?" James laughed as he walked over to his alarmed wife.

She shook her head. "There is someone out there in a black cloak, watching our house James," she said just above a whisper.

"Go lock the doors and windows, make sure they are all magically sealed," James said even though there was a charm on their house to keep strangers from entering.

Lily did as she was told as James looked out of the window. He closed the drapes just like Lily did. "He saw me," he whispered to the empty room.

Something about the figure bothered James. He was just standing across the street in his cloak, staring at their house. It was time to call in a professional, someone with a good nose.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"He smells fishy alright, literally. I don't know where he came from, but he smells like he appeared out of a pond or something," Sirius said after he returned to the Potter's house after an examination. "He didn't seem too eager to get rid of me though. He let me sniff him and he petted me and played with my ears. If it weren't for the creepiness about him, I would say he was a nice guy."

"Did you recognize anything about him?" James asked.

"The fabric of his cloak didn't smell like any other fabric I have ever smelled. It wasn't factory made. He either made it himself or got it from someone who hand made it. It doesn't have a trace of laundry detergent odor on it, so I'd say it is fairly new, never been washed," Sirius continued.

"Anything else?" Lily asked as she held Harry in her arms.

"He had a wand. 11 inches, holly, unicorn tail center I'd say. Pretty bendy," Sirius said.

"How did you get to his wand?" James asked, obviously impressed.

"Jumped up on him and shook his robes. The wand fell out and I sniffed it for a minute before he took it from me," Sirius said, smiling.

"Do you think we could find out who he is by what wand he has?" James asked.

"Now you're thinking James!" Sirius said.

"Well come on then let's go to Ollivanders!" Lily said as she grabbed her cloak from the chair next to her.

Sirius motioned for her to sit down. "Already did. Guess who it is James, just guess!" Sirius said, excitedly.

"I dunno, your cousin Belltrix?" he asked.

Sirius' eyes darkened. "No, and don't ever mention her around me again," he said.

Lily thought for a moment. "I recognize the wand description from somewhere. I have seen it before. Did he go to school with us?" she asked.

Sirius nodded. "Our graduating year," he said.

"Did we know him?" James asked.

Sirius nodded.

"Did we ever speak to him?" Lily asked.

"James and I did a lot more than speak to him," Sirius laughed.

James smiled. "Did we ever torture him for calling Lily a mudblood?"

Sirius nodded.

"Are you serious? _He_ was here?" Lily gasped.

Sirius nodded again. "I thought I'd never have to see him again."

"Why was he here though?" James asked.

"I found this note in his pocket," Sirius said as he drew a note out from his robes.

Lily made a grab for it, but James was too quick for her and snatched it away from Sirius.

A/N- Well you probably know who the Potter's stalker is now, I think I made it obvious. But, I bet you don't know what the note said!!! I don't even know what it says yet!! But I do know that my band got a division 2 at BOA on Saturday!!! Go us!! And I also know that you want to leave me a review...so hop to it!!


	48. Sides

James looked at the piece of parchment that he had gripped in his hands. "It just says our address," he said, scratching his head.

"That doesn't help at all!" Lily said as she grabbed the parchment from James.

Sirius shrugged. "I said I found a note, I never said it was going to be helpful," he said as he opened the fridge in the kitchen.

"It gives us no information as to why he was watching the house," James said in disbelief.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Look at the handwriting," he said taking a bite out of an apple.

Lily took the note from James again and looked at it closely. "It looks familiar," she said after a moment.

James looked over her shoulder. "Yeah, I have seen it before too."

"Everyone who has attended Hogwarts has seen it at least seven times," Sirius said as he filled a glass with water.

"The Hogwarts letters that we used to get! Dumbledore wrote them back when he was deputy headmaster," Lily shrieked.

James' eyes narrowed. "So does this mean that Dumbledore isn't on our side?" James asked.

Sirius shrugged. "I was hoping you could give me that answer," he said.

Lily shook her head. "There is no way that Dumbledore isn't on our side," she said.

"Well there is also no way that Snape is on our side," James protested.

Lily rolled her eyes. "What makes you so sure?" she asked.

"Well he's just...evil," James said.

Sirius laughed. "James you were always the one evil to him," he said.

"Whose side are you on?" James asked.

Sirius held his hands up in front of him. "I'm always on your side, I'm just saying that maybe you should think about what you're saying before you go accusing someone," he said.

Lily nodded. "You never know, Snape might be working for us. Trying to protect us perhaps," she said.

"But then why wouldn't Dumbledore tell us?" James asked. "You'd think he would tell us if he was going to have us monitored for safety."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Maybe he thought we'd try to get rid of the spy or freak out about it," she said.

Sirius nodded. "Soooo....where is my godson?" he asked as he strolled into the living room where Harry was sleeping.

"I think that we should talk to Dumbledore about this," Lily said as she reached for a quill and piece of parchment that were lying on the counter top.

James shook his head. "We still don't know who he is working for," he said as he snatched the quill out of Lily's hand.

"Come on James! Like he would really switch sides at this point in time!" she protested as she summoned another quill.

James took that one away from her as well. "What if he was never on our side? What if it was all an act?" he asked.

Lily sighed. "Fine, we won't tell him. But if Snape continues to watch us this week we have to tell him. And we have to get a thicker shade for the bathroom window thing," she said as she put the piece of parchment back onto the counter.

"Deal," James said as he kissed the top of Lily's head.

She rolled her eyes. "Let's go find Harry and Sirius," she said.

James nodded and followed her out of the room, stuffing the note in his pocket.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"James he's out there again!" Lily said as she magically closed the drapes in their room.

James peered out of the window. "All I see is an old lady," he said.

"Can you not tell that it is Snape?" Lily said as she pointed out of the window. "The 'woman' has greasy black hair, a long nose, and she is twice as tall as a normal woman!"

James looked away from the window. "That's it. Lily, close all of the windows in the house. There is no way that he is going to get away with whatever he is doing," James said, looking quite disturbed.

Lily nodded. "Could you get Harry, I think he is crying," she said as she walked into the hallway.

James took one last look out of his window before closing the drapes tightly again. Snape was really starting to freak him out even more than he had before. Back at school he was just strange, now he was....weird. He shook his head and walked into Harry's room to find him still sleeping. He had either gone back to sleep or never woke up at all. Lily was always hearing crying from that room, ever since Rose was taken.

"James!!!"

James ran down the stairs and found Lily in the study. "What is it?" he asked.

She pointed to the owl holding the black letter from the Ministry. "What now?" he asked as he rushed over the owl.

"I am afraid to open it James, I know what those letters mean," Lily said with a horrified look on her face.

"You never know, maybe they ran out of regular envelopes," he said hopefully.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Yeah right. Just open it and get it over with," she said as the owl flew out of the open window.

Lily immediately closed it and pulled the drapes tightly shut. James opened the letter and let out a sigh. "I thought they'd never get him," he said.

"What? Who?" Lily asked.

"My brother Tom. He was killed in a death eater raid on accident," he said.

"Oh, James that is awful," Lily said.

James shrugged. "He was a death eater, it was time for him to go. I never spoke to him again after I found out, couldn't afford to have him pass on my information to anyone," James said as he tore up the letter and threw it in the trash next to the writing desk.

"Oh," said Lily, grateful that James had severed his connection with his brother.

"Now we have nothing to worry about," he said as he held her tightly.

He moved in to kiss her but Lily stopped him. "What?" he asked.

"I just don't feel comfortable kissing you in a room with windows. It is unnerving to know that Snape might be watching," she whispered, blushing.

James shook his head and let go of her. "I swear, I am going to kill him," he said.

A/N—A month. I am soooooooooo sorry!!!!!! Band has been busy. We won our class at sate contest for the 7th year in a row and took 11th in finals. This weekend we are traveling to Indianapolis to compete in a BOA regional. But then marching season is over and I can write more often. To tell you the truth it hasn't been band that has been keeping me busy, it is my homework. God, I hate school!!!!! Well so hopefully you are happy with this chapter, even though I think it sux and is way too short for my liking, but I decided to post anyway because it has been a month. So see ya later. (or whatever, I can't think right now....)


	49. 20 Questions

A/N- Sorry about the horrible amount of time between updates….lol…school has kept me busy. This story will hopefully draw to a close sometime within the next few chapters…I am jumping a couple of months…I haven't re read this story in a while…so if something gets confusing just let me know…I totally lost my out line…it really sucks..

* * *

**_February_**

* * *

James looked over at Lily who was staring idly out of their giant picture window in the living room. He could tell she would have given anything to be outside and breathe fresh air. They had been locked up inside of their house ever since Snape had told Dumbledore that they were to be Voldemort's next big target.

James had doubted Snape's loyalty at first, but now he had no doubt in his mind that Snape was indeed on their side. As soon as the rumor had gotten out that Lily and James were spending a week in Paris for their anniversary, there was an attack on the hotel that they were supposedly staying at.

It had been about 4 months since they had gone into hiding under something called the fidelious (sp?) charm that Dumbledore had run across. James had no idea how it really worked, although Lily had said it had a lot to do with a secret. So naturally, Sirius was in charge of that. If the secret of where they were hiding got out then the charm would be broken and they would be found.

Dumbledore still wouldn't say why they were Voldemort's new target. James could tell that he knew why, otherwise he wouldn't have been so eager to get them into hiding so fast.

The attacks had died down since they went into hiding, according to Sirius who was the only one allowed to see them. This absolutely terrified Lily, who was convinced that the reason that the attacks had slowed was because he was planning a devastating way to kill them.

Life was slow and every day seemed to last a year. There was nothing to do at the house besides sit on the couches and stare at each other. Harry was keeping them busy and served as their entertainment most of the time. He had learned how to crawl around the house pretty well and was getting into everything. In a muggle house he would have been a big pain to straiten up after, but as Lily knew most of the 'easy cleaning' spells, it was no problem.

Lily had spent her time putting old photos into albums and organizing old Christmas cards that they had received over the past few years. James was busy still organizing Quidditch strategies for his team.

Another catch with the Fidelious charm was that no one could even know that they were in hiding. So they had to get 'stunt doubles' so to speak to fill in for their normal everyday activities. Loyal members of the Order were recruited to fill the positions of James, Lily, and even little Harry. They had memory charms put on them so they didn't remember anything about their former lives. As far as they could remember, they had always been the Potter family.

So even though James wasn't technically working anymore, he still had to come up with strategies for the game since his 'stunt double' had no talent for thinking ahead. It was quite annoying and he had protested against the idea at first, but eventually gave in as soon as he became bored of sitting around, doing nothing.

Lily's hopes were high that they would soon be able to come out of hiding and live normal lives again. She was really starting to miss being able to go outside and be in the open air. Life was so boring inside of their house. The house had become a mess over the past few months, Lily didn't have the energy to clean it. She really didn't do much of anything. There was nothing to do. She couldn't keep her garden pretty or go shopping for food or clothes. She felt trapped within the walls of her home, a place that you should never feel trapped in.

Harry was the only one who seemed happy. He had the constant attention of his parents and could go anywhere he wanted to in the house without getting into trouble. He smiled constantly, which kept his parents smiling as well. He started to sleep less and less which meant he was up for a good portion of the day, discovering new things around him or new noises that he could make.

Other than that, life was really boring.

Lily pressed her fingertips lightly to the window pane and sighed. James sighed as well. He had to do something to get her mind off of what they were no longer a part of. But what to do?

Luckily he didn't have to think of anything because at that moment Sirius appeared in their living room, making Lily jump. "Oh, it's just you Sirius," she laughed, hand on her chest.

Sirius smirked. "Who else would it be?"

Lily shrugged. "No one I guess. Please, sit," she said, thankful that he had come to visit them.

"What's up mate?" James asked as Sirius sat on the couch.

"I have some good news!" he shrieked.

Lily looked up. "Can we come out? Can we go outside again?" she asked.

He shook his head and Lily sighed. "Then it's not good news. That is the only good news I want to hear," she huffed.

Sirius shook his head. "I think you'll think differently of it as soon as you hear what I have to say," he smiled.

James looked up. "Well spill it already!"

Sirius smiled. "We found her!"

Lily and James looked at each other. "Her?"

"Yes, we found her!" Sirius said.

"Her who?" James asked.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "What do you mean her who? We found her!"

Lily looked confused. "Sirius, the only person we have been looking for is Voldemort…and unless I am greatly mistaken, Voldemort is not a her," she said.

Sirius rolled his eyes again. "No, we haven't found him yet, but we did find someone," he said.

James looked like he was ready to strangle Sirius. "Just tell us already, we are growing short on patience!"

Sirius smiled. "Patience is a virtue Prongs. Let's play a little game," he said.

"Why do you like to torture us?" asked Lily, eyes narrowing.

"What is wrong with a little guessing game?" Sirius asked innocently.

James rolled his eyes. "Fine, we'll play your little game," he said.

Sirius smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that," he said.

A moment of silence. "Are we going to play or not?" Lily asked, growing slightly aggravated.

"Alright, alright, give me a minute…okay…I know what game we are going to play now. It's a muggle game called 20 questions or something. Ask me any question," he said.

Lily and James raised their eyebrows. "What if we don't guess after 20 questions?" she asked.

Sirius shrugged. "Then we rename the game 40 questions or however long it takes you to guess," he said.

James shook his head. "Okay then. Is it a new broom stick?" he asked.

Sirius shook his head no and Lily sighed. "James, you can't be so specific with your questions. Sirius, is it a person, place or a thing?" she asked.

Sirius pretended to think about it for a minute before answering, "Person."

"Voldemort!" James screamed.

Sirius shook his head and Lily slapped her hand to her head. "James!"

He laughed. "It's just a game," he said.

Lily sighed. "Boy or girl?"

"Girl," Sirius replied.

"Voldemort has a wife!" James shrieked.

Lily made an exasperated noise in the back of her throat. "James!"

Sirius shook his head. "No, but that would be amusing," he said.

Lily thought for a moment. "Younger than me?" she asked.

Sirius nodded. "Voldemort has a daughter!" James yelled again, standing up.

"James, you can't play anymore," Lily said, scooting closer to Sirius.

Sirius laughed and shook his head. "No, not his daughter."

"Do we know her?" Lily asked.

Sirius nodded his head and James opened his mouth and let out a scream as Lily kicked his shin. "Is she at Hogwarts?" she asked.

Sirius shook his head no. "Will she go to Hogwarts?"

"Most likely," Sirius replied.

James sighed and put his head in his hands. "So she is under the age of 11?"

Sirius nodded. "Is she related to us?" Lily asked.

Sirius nodded again. James' head perked up. "Umm…me or James?" she asked.

"Both," Sirius said.

Lily thought for a few moments. "Sirius that isn't possible."

James shook his head. "Yeah, it is!" he said excitedly.

"James be quiet!" Lily shushed.

"No really, it is Lily!" he said.

"James! Please!"

"Lily, I think James might be on to something," Sirius grinned.

"Fine, James, just ask a question," she said.

James smiled. "Thank you Lily dearest. Does she have red hair?" he asked.

"James, Sirius isn't talking about me," Lily said.

James smiled and rolled his eyes. "I'm not that thick Lily love," he said.

"Yes about the red hair. James you know who it is, I know you know, so just say it," Sirius said.

"I am afraid to say it," he said, softly.

Sirius looked puzzled. "Why? I thought you'd be happy."

"It's just I haven't seen her in so long. I thought I'd never see her again," James frowned.

"Will someone just tell me? I hate suspense!" Lily said.

"Is it…?"

* * *

A/N- Evil cliffy, I know, but I don't care. Hehehehe…maybe this will give me incentive to update sooner…it's been…what…3 ish months? Sorry, so sorry. School is a pain and I blame it for keeping me from typing this up. School drains the creative mind too much. Well I hope you liked the chapter…and sorry for not updating as quickly as you all would have liked me too. Till next post…leave a review! 


	50. Letters

A/N- All I am going to say is I am dreadfully sorry.

_Mr. and Mrs. James Potter,_

_You have heard correctly that we do have a young child name Rose in our care. You do present reasonable evidence that you are her parents, but we still cannot just simply hand her over to you. You have described her perfectly in physical appearance as we had first found her around the time that you say she went missing. You sent us a copy of her birth certificate as well which matches the one that was on the database when we went searching for her identity. _

_We must question why you did not respond to any of our letters that we sent you previous to this one regarding our finding your child. This is what is making my husband and I question the situation. I hope you can understand why we feel this way. It has been a few years since we sent the first letter and we never received a reply. We have tried all means of contacting you, but nothing has pulled through so far. Please forgive us for being so suspicious and questioning why you are asking about her now instead of replying to our letters when we first sent them several years ago. _

_My husband and I have grown very fond of Rose over the past few years, raising her as our own child as we can have none ourselves. After not hearing from you for a year after we sent many letters and had the officials send countless letters, we, not long ago, requested to be Rose's legal guardians. We were granted the privilege as the officials saw this as a case of child neglect after not hearing from you for so long. We tried to contact you in all ways possible before we requested to be her guardians, but we couldn't find anyway to reach you. Post wasn't working, the phone number was non existent, the address lead us to an empty condemned house, and we saw reports of the two of you being missing for a few months. _

_Rose is now under our legal guardianship and we will not be very willing to give her up. It does not seem that you in fact love her as much as you claimed to in your letter. Why didn't you reply to all of our letters? Financial trouble? Struggle in the household? Why did you leave her on our doorstep in the first place? I know you claimed her to be kidnapped or presumed dead, but still, why didn't you send out any missing child reports or contact anyone at her disappearance? I am sorry if I sound rude or brash by making raising these questions and comments, but one wonders about these things sometimes. _

_If you present some sort of plausible evidence of your story that you told us in your letter, then we might be forced to give up guardianship, but I highly doubt that that will be happening soon. You sound like a very unstable couple living a very dangerous lifestyle, unfit for our little Rose. _

_With all due respect,  
__Julia Pennick_

_Ms. Julia Pennick,_

_My husband and I wrote to you for a simple thing: to get back our beloved daughter. You have denied us of our only wish. How can you call yourselves her legal guardians and parents? We are her parents! We conceived her and I spend five bloody hours in labor with her. I know that she is in fact MY child. This is preposterous. You cannot call our Rose your Rose. I am her MOTHER! I will always be her MOTHER! I haven't seen my child in too long. When I first heard that she was in your possession I was overjoyed as I thought that I would be able to have her in my arms again, to hold her, to kiss her, to stroke her soft red hair. _

_We never received these letters that you say you sent to us when you found OUR daughter. Not a single letter or notice. Not one. You'd think we'd have replied to it if we had received one. WE WERE HORRIFIED WHEN WE FOUND THAT SHE WAS GONE! ABSOLUTELY HORRIFIED! WE WERE UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT SHE WAS MURDERED! AND FOR YOUR INFORMATION, WE DID GO LOOKING FOR HER! WE DID FILE REPORTS THAT SHE WAS MISSING! THEY JUST PROBABLY DIDN'T REACH YOUR SMALL STUPID EARS THAT ARE ON YOUR SMALL STUPID UGLY FACE! Sorry if you take offence to my comments. _

_We only knew our daughter for a short time. You have robbed us of our time with her. It is not our fault that she was taken from us. Don't you dare accuse me of neglecting my child! My husband and I loved her more than life itself. Don't you even dare think that we didn't. How would you feel if your only child was taken from you after you hardly even knew her? Oh, that's right, you said you can't have children. Maybe there is a reason for that! _

_I can present you with as much damned evidence as you want! JUST GIVE ME BACK MY DAUGHTER! I DON'T CARE IF YOU ARE HER GUARDIAN OR NOT! SHE IS MY DAUGHTER AND I WANT HER BACK! _

_With no respect at all,  
__Lily Potter_

_Dear Lily Potter,_

_If you really think that you letter is going to make me even start to think about giving Rose back to you, you are absolutely wrong. I sent your letter to the officials and they are on the watch for you and your husband so don't even think about trying anything or you will be arrested. _

_You sound like a loon who needs serious therapy and a lesson in parenthood. You said in your first letter that you have another child? I notified the officials of that too. Take warning that if they do ever find you, your son will no longer be in your possession. You do not deserve to have children the way that you are acting. My husband and I have dreamed of having a daughter of our own and now we have one. Nothing is going to take our daughter away from us. _

_With even less respect,  
__Julia Pennick_

_Dumbledore,_

_Lily is going insane with this whole thing. PLEASE I am begging you, do everything that you can to get Rose back. I am afraid that Lily is going to do something drastic to this Julia lady. I didn't get a chance to read the letter that she last sent to Julia, but Julia's response was not pleasant leading me to believe that Lily's letter wasn't pleasant either. _

_I really want to get Rose back and would appreciate any help that you can give us. Memory charms might be the way to go to avoid an uproar in the muggle world. _

_Lily mentioned something about them sending us letters and trying to contact us when they first found Rose. Anyway of finding out whether this is true or not? _

_Thanks,  
__James_

_Snot headed bitch,_

_This is the last straw. You have insulted me for the last time. This means WAR! _

_With all the fires in hell (I hope you burn),_

_Lily Potter_

"Lily!" James screamed as he tackled Lily on the living room floor. "This nonsense has got to stop! I have never seen you like this before!"

"James, this woman is keeping us from getting Rose. She is calling herself Rose's mother! I AM ROSE'S MOTHER! ME! NOT HER! ME! And if she can't see that then then…." Lily broke off and burst into tears.

James put his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug. "I know Lily. I am upset about all of this too, but we have to handle this like mature adults."

Lily cried even harder. "It is just so hard…it's not fair! Sirius said that we were going to be able to get her back! He lied to us!" she screamed between sobs.

James held her tighter to stop her from hitting him. "Sirius did not lie, he just spoke too soon for his own good," James said.

"Well maybe he should think twice before speaking anymore!" she accused.

"I wrote to Dumbledore and he is going to help us ok?" James said soothingly.

Lily nodded slightly. "James, I just want Rose back. I just want her back so bad. Now that I know she is alive I just want her back here with us. I want to hold her and kiss her and hold her some more like I used to. I want to call her my daughter again."

"She will always be our daughter Lily," James whispered.

"I know, but I want her to be only our daughter. That Julia woman has no right to call Rose her daughter," Lily said.

James knew Lily was wrong. Julia had every legal right to call Rose her daughter now, but he wasn't about to say it to Lily and he didn't really want to believe it himself.

"Well hopefully she doesn't take offence to the last letter you had Sirius mail to her. I read it Lily. You shouldn't have said all of that," James said.

Lily stopped crying and looked at him, then started crying again. What had she done? She was acting in a way she had never acted before. She was acting like a raged maniac. She was scaring herself.

"Tomorrow is Sunday and Sirius will have word from Dumbledore as he always does on Sunday. He might have news about Rose or even Rose herself," James said hopefully.

Lily nodded. "Just keep telling me that and I think I'll be fine."

A/N

Sorry about the suckiness of the chapter…I just needed to write something for this story and maybe it will get me out of this horrible writer's block that I have been suffering from. It really stinks. Well please review anyway…even though this chapter should die …lol…well I started the repost of this story…it is called Happily Never After for those of you who haven't found it yet. Lol for those of you who have…thanks for taking the time to read and hopefully review! Well hopefully I can get over this stupid block.Again, sorry for this really really lame chapter...Bye!


End file.
